HOW WILL LIVERPOOL MEET THE CLIMATE CHALLENGE?
Saturday 16 February at 2pm...
Film Focus: Liverpool's Response to Climate Change
A special showing of Who killed the electric car? (tickets £3.50 - box office 0151 707 4450 - or on the day) in FACT Screen 3 Wood Street Liverpool 1
How are local communities, businesses, and our City's Capital of Culture activities aiming to keep the emissions down? A debate is to be kicked off by local environmentalists and others, following the showing of an acclaimed film - back at FACT by popular demand - on how global oil interests acted to hold back action on climate change, even as the UK's chief scientist described this as "the greatest threat to our planet".
Hosted by Frank Kennedy of Friends of the Earth NW and Don Thompson of Merseyside Environmental Trust.
Speakers from the Co-operative Bank, Transition Towns and Liverpool's Culture Company will open a debate on how fit Liverpool is to become a 'low carbon city' - from the perspectives of business, of an active community group and of Capital of Culture itself.
Followed by 'speed dating' chat sessions in the Bar until 4.30pm. members of the public are invited to watch the film. Extra time is promised if needed (but no penalties!)
5 comments:
Interesting that you are propmoting this whilst the City council offers no training on climate change and sustainabiility to its councillors or senior officers.
As someone putting together a CPD course for regional decision makers on Sustainable development: From theory to pracitice, I hope you'll be pushing for training to be available within the city council if you get elected again.
must have completely dreamt that training i went on as a councillor then!!
well if you did then someone at Liverpool city council lied to me in request I submitted to be told about any training relevant to this area.
I hope that you will feel suitably enraged that I was not given the correct information to investigate further and if possible you could also supply the relevant information on your blog so that I might be able to understand what is offered, as clearly emailing the council to ask doesn't work.
Oh and you might want to check who else they've told that you offer nothing as I know of a couple of other agencies in the Northwest who also seem to believe Liverpool offers little by way of this type of training.
And lastly, whatever the training does offer all I am interested in is seeing is whether the expertise available in this area within a local university can be used to supplement what is already offered and provide those involved in making serious investment and planning decisions within the city region with a decent understanding of how Sustainable development can be incorporated within their work.
I'd have thought that you would have been keen to ensure that Liverpool is keeping up with this rapidly moving area of public policy and I don't think asking a prospective councillor to promote this agenda if they are elected is unreasonable.
Don't think its unreasonable to raise it - and didn't say so. Like many others Liverpool C C arranged for me to have training via the Local Government Association. other councillors and officers also took part in different aspects of this - in particular I looked at the sustainability aspects of procurement. the LGA training on offer is quite wide ranging.
There is also a scheme for councillors called the "councillorship" which is provided by Chester University and which includes a number of modules on different aspects of the role of being a councillor. It is assessed by evidence portfolios rather than examinations and for those completing it is equivalent to a particular qualification (can't remember which one). From memory people apply the modules in a way which best fits their role, and they range from rather basic to quite advanced. its the first scheme of its kind in the UK I am told although there may vwell be others existing now in other councils in the region as it would be quite easy for Chester to replicate it elsewhere.
I suspect if you framed the question in terms of what sort of training was available to councillors and officers that might relate to environmental issues, whether provided by in house experts or through external bodies you would get a clearer answer and would then be able to ascertain where the market gaps are.
Do I think some councillors could do with taking climate change issues a bit more to heart? Sure. Would I have liked some support from other parties when I called in the airport expansion plans. You bet!!!!
Watched "Who Killed the Electric Car" recently (great documentary), then i heard that GM and Tesla are making another run at the electric car (yay for progress!) hopefully development of this technology can go on unhindered by the corporations that depend on oil consumption.
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