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Creating a new Minister for Energy, a carbon-neutral bus service, and no new registrations of fossil-fuelled private cars after 2025 are among some of the recommendations in a new report published today, to help the island tackle climate change.
It's been put together by a Citizens’ Assembly and focusses on the island's two greatest sources of greenhouse gasses: transport and heating/cooling/cooking.
Between March and May 2021, the group had 14 virtual meetings, during which they received briefings from members of a specialist Advisory Panel, chaired by Professor Liz Bentley, Chief Executive of the Royal Meteorological Society.
They were asked to make recommendations to the States Assembly on how the island should become carbon-neutral.
Pictured: The Assembly recommended that the bus service become carbon neutral by 2025.
The majority of the group echoed the Government's existing target of becoming carbon neutral by 2030, providing a series of recommendations on how to deliver that.
These include making bus services carbon-neutral as well as more accessible and affordable by 2025, a ‘walking and cycling first’ transport model and an immediate and fair transition to low-carbon transport by 2030 that will ensure financial support for both low-income households and small businesses. According to the Assembly, fossil-fuelled private cars should be phased out, with no new registration of this type of vehicles after 2025.
The group is also suggesting the Government should support carbon reduction technologies for all modes of transport that are currently available immediately, with new technologies being introduced as soon as they become viable.
The Assembly is also recommending a focus on buildings, with Building Standards and Planning Law incorporating carbon neutral standards by 2023, the creation of Energy Performance Certificates and a retrofitting strategy for residential buildings by the end of 2022 to ensure the best energy efficiency.
Pictured: Carbon neutral standards for buildings should be set by 2023.
A Minister for Energy, to be appointed no later than 2022 and advised by an independent expert panel, has also been recommended to take responsibility for the transition to becoming carbon-free by 2045 or sooner.
The group of 45 islanders is also inviting the Government to empower communities to become carbon-neutral by creating policy and funding frameworks for communal power generation and energy efficiency measures related to heating, cooling and cooking.
The States Assembly will have an initial debate of the Citizens’ Assembly recommendations in July. Once the Government has published its Carbon Neutral roadmap, islanders will be invited to share their views before it is debate in the States Assembly in Spring 2022.
To read the full report, click HERE, and follow Express tomorrow for in depth analysis.
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Some aspects may be unpopular with some voters, but the Climate Crisis is too important an issue for them to allow their personal concerns over re-election to cloud their judgement. They need to do the right thing.
For B'Express readers unfamiliar with this political vehicle it is a "random Politburo" established under Trotskyist political activism concepts.
None of these unelected individuals actually speak for anyone else - except the Government of Jersey (Civil Service Section) - which will have provided intensive briefings and guidelines prior to asking for any decisions. This is to establish the senior officer's preferred policy direction.
The concept of a Minister for Energy helpfully underlines the aimless nature of this exercise. As everything requires Energy, presumably this appointment trumps the Chief Minister. Alternatively, what are the inclusions and limitations of this new portfolio??
The general approach seems to harbour the familiar "world leading approach" by Jersey to the Climate Emergency, which is utterly delusional.
Are there really people in Jersey, other than foot stamping politicians, who think that countries around the globe are waiting - with bated breath and high expectations - to see what Jersey does next?? Of course not.
Predictably, all the aspirational schemes - carbon neutral bus service and scrapping of combustion driven vehicles - will impact most heavily on the less well off - so, at least, government policy remains consistent.
In case you missed it, the Climate Emergency has already happened and if you believe it is all down to CARBON, it's time to do a bit more research. Clue for early learners - how does plastic get into the oceans?
What we have in hand is a PR exercise from a government of UK carpetbaggers that is abusing our community for self enrichment. Time to lighten the load on local taxpayers!!
an ambition to work towards" and then set targets that WILL be impossible to meet.
A extra Minister for Energy and a an independent expert panel ~ Costings for this don't seem to be part of this "green wave policy" ~ someone will have to pay for this.
This assembly needs to come back down to earth ~ and work out the realistic steps that are achievable ~ the way things are looking, especially when France cuts off our Electricity is dire.
Whilst everyone could do their bit ~ including no more flights into or out of the Island and the scrapping of the fast ferry ~ do we really want this ?
WAKE UP and GET REAL
China, India, America, and the UK are in the top 10 for polluting, what chance has Jersey got in adding to any difference in the big scheme of things?
Jersey's main problem which is the big fat elephant in the room is mass immigration adding to all our problems. Stop the immigration and you stop people driving cars, they do not drive themselves!
Most of these recommendations are absolute nonsense, do you really think all the construction companies are going to buy electric trucks to deliver concrete for the new hospital? Or the thousands of other building projects that are in the government's pipeline.
No, they are not it is the average working-class person who will end up paying more taxes to offset carbon emissions.
These plans need to go in the bin where they belong.