Posted on 8th November 2017 in 
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Last week our CEO Gideon Richards and his wife Sue were happy to host a visit to their home from Huddersfield Green Party Councillor Andrew Cooper in the company of a Belgian film crew.
Andrew and his crew had come to interview Gideon and Sue about the efforts they are making to reduce their carbon footprint and live a greener life. Over the last few years this has included the installation of solar PV, solar thermal and biomass heating systems. More recently they have invested in an electric car which they use for work commutes and now, with the expansion of the public charging network, for journeys further afield.
Their conversations with Andrew will form part of a film which could be screened this weekend at the COP23 Climate Talks in Bonn. The film supports a policy initiative developed by Andrew in his capacity as a member of the UK delegation to the EU Committee of the Regions.
The policy aims to give Councils and Regional bodies in the EU the ability to contribute directly towards the Paris Climate Change targets without first going through their National Governments system of Nationally Determined Contributions. However, Andrew hopes the policy will reach beyond the EU and into the USA where it could be picked up at State level. Andrew says:
“Adopting this policy will provide a way for State Governments in the USA to produce plans to reduce carbon emissions without seeking the permission of their President. We cannot allow the illogical and unscientific approach taken by President Trump to go unchallenged. This is a way he can be side stepped and give those politicians who take a rational approach in the USA the policies they need to make the action they take at the local level count towards international climate change targets.”
More information about Andrew’s policy can be found on his blog and you can follow his progress and the progress of the wider COP23 climate talks here.
In the meantime, CWP Ltd wish Andrew every success in Bonn and hope that our small contribution will help his policy go all the way to the Whitehouse.
