Green Party

Green Councillor Adrian Ramsay will propose a motion to Norwich City Council on Tuesday 30th September calling on the Council to support the new Transition Norwich initiative.

If passed, the motion will commit the Council to incorporating the aims of Transition Norwich into its work and helping the initiative succeed.

Transition Town initiatives have been spreading across the country since the launch of Transition Totnes – the first Transition Town – in 2006.  The movement aims to provide positive local solutions to the twin challenges of climate change and dwindling oil supplies. Transition Town initiatives aim to create more resilient local areas, looking at ways to reduce the energy-dependence of every area of life. Key to their success is engaging every sector of the community in working out the details of these plans, including local government. 

Adrian Ramsay, Leader of the Green Party City Councillors, said: “Transition Norwich is a truly inspiring initiative to galvanise positive local action - bringing people together to share solutions that will enhance community life and prepare Norwich for the challenges ahead. 

“The cost of not acting on climate change is far greater than the cost of action.  The UK Government’s own report, the Stern Review, predicts that climate change will cost the global economy £4 trillion – and make 200 million people refugees - unless carbon emissions are cut dramatically in the next ten years. 

“Residents are already suffering from rising fuel prices. It makes economic and environmental sense to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels.  There are many positive solutions, but the Government is not embracing them.  I hope that creative local action like the Transition Towns movement will shame the Government into taking the action that is urgently needed on the national and international stage.

"The Green Party is proposing a Green New Deal, which would see investment in insulation and renewable energy to help cut fuel bills and in other measures to create strong local economies with hundreds of new jobs in green businesses."

The Council vote comes one day before ‘the Great Unleashing’ - the launch event for Transition Norwich - which will take place on the evening of Wednesday 1st October at St Andrew's Hall, Norwich, at 7:30pm.

Rob Hopkins, founder of Transition Totnes - the first Transition Towns initiative, will be the main speaker at the launch event.

The central part of the Unleashing event will involve group discussions on particular themes for creating a resilient (less oil dependent) Norwich . As the project develops, these groups will work on developing an Energy Descent Plan for Norwich, to reduce oil dependency and cut carbon emissions.

Adrian Ramsay and other Green councillors will be participating in the launch event to support the Transition Norwich initiative. 

Motion – Transition Towns

Councillor Ramsay to move:-

‘This Council notes the growth of the Transition Towns movement around the UK .

This Council welcomes the establishment of a Transition Norwich initiative and endorses its aim to address the twin problems of peak oil and climate change by tackling our society's dependency on oil.

This Council resolves to:

(1) encourage its councillors to attend the launch meeting of Transition Norwich on Wednesday, 1 October 2008 (7:30 p.m. at St. Andrew's Hall);

(2)  ask group leaders to:

(a)   discuss, at their next meeting, how the Council can incorporate the aims of Transition Norwich into its work and how the Council can help Transition Towns succeed.

(b)   make recommendations on these points to the Executive.’

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