This week’s IPCC report covers everything we know about the climate and how it is changing. Its message is now all too familiar: the situation is grave, but we can still keep global temperature rises small enough that the effects of climate change are manageable – if we act decisively.

Coupled with the equally familiar news about the degradation of the environment around us – air pollution, discharges into rivers, plastic waste, loss of biodiversity – it can be not just depressing but  seem so big a problem that it overwhelms us.

But there are real, concrete steps that we can take, here in Huntingdon, that will make a difference both to the world – albeit in a small way – and to us, right here in Huntingdon.

Huntingdon Town Council has audited its environmental impacts to see where we are and where we can improve. We’re going to be turning that into concrete implementation plans, including measuring how we do in future against how we’re doing today.

Our ambition is to be carbon neutral as soon as we can, but that does mean difficult decisions. For instance, we’d like to move to an all-electric fleet of vehicles, with energy coming from sustainable sources rather than burning fossil fuels. That presents an immediate set of challenges – balancing the embodied carbon in existing and new vehicles, not to mention the higher up-front cost of battery electric vehicles and, in some cases, waiting for technology to advance so that current internal combustion can be effectively replaced.

While some of our buildings are very modern and efficient, the Town Hall, built in 1745, is not. As it is a listed building, we have to be careful in what we do and some options for more modern buildings simply aren’t available. Nevertheless, we are looking at secondary glazing, better insulation, more efficient use of the boilers, and how long such improvements will take to pay for themselves. They do require up-front investment, but end up saving money in the long term.

One of the most interesting aspects of the report, though, is that most of our emissions come from the goods and services that Huntingdon Town Council purchases. We’re already working on how we can improve that – not just in what we buy, but where we buy it from and how we buy it. Combining deliveries saves a surprising amount of carbon emissions.  

Huntingdon is more, of course, than the Town Council. We’re working with and promoting groups that work for green ends in Huntingdon. The annual Eco Fair is a big part of that – showing what we can all do to reduce carbon emissions, cut waste, and make a positive contribution to the environment, as well as getting ideas for what else we can do.

We’ve already linked up with Wild About Huntingdon, which works to improve biodiversity in our town, as well as the Huntingdon Eco Action Team, and I was delighted to see Huntingdon Green Town out in their new hi-vis litter picking. There is a role for councils in supporting these groups, but they do work better with the drive and leadership coming from volunteers.

There are also the familiar things we can all do in our day to day life that, for instance, save energy – turning computers off at night, turning lights off when we’re not using them, turning the heating down a notch, only boiling as much water as we need – that also save money. Cutting back on meat also saves carbon emissions.

Beyond that, we also need to look at what and how we buy goods. Recycling is great, but reusing is better, and reducing is even better. Refill shops, like Ikigai in St Ives or Weigh Too Good in Huntingdon, make a big difference in generating less waste in the first place. I know people complain about the number of charity shops in town, but they are a great place for bargains – and stopping perfectly decent clothes and goods from going to landfill.

With all the usual pressures of life, particularly in these difficult times, it’s completely understandable that people prioritise the now over the tomorrow – even more so when the tasks of reducing carbon emissions and protecting our environment seem so very big. I hope we can avoid the counsels of despair. We can make changes, big and small, that save carbon, save money, and improve the environment here in Huntingdon.