With just one month to go until locals can vote for their first metropolitan mayor, Friends of the Earth is calling on all of the candidates to “put the environment at the heart” of their vision for the future of the West of England.
The environmental charity has outlined 11 actions it believes all candidates should commit to, including cleaning up the regions’ air, improving biodiversity and investing in zero carbon housing and green energy.
Friends of the Earth is encouraging people to write to their candidates and ask them to commit to a better, greener future for the West of England with the environment at its heart.
Alasdair Cameron, Friends of the Earth campaigner, said: “The mayoral election is a huge opportunity for all of us in the West of England to say what kind of place we want to live in, and the kind of future we want to see, and the environment must be at the heart of that vision.
“Encouraging innovation and modern industries, like renewable energy and electricity storage, will create jobs and position the area as a hub for new technologies in the UK.
“At the same time we know that housing locally is reaching crisis levels, but new homes must be fit for the next hundred years, and that means being built in the right place, and to zero carbon standards.
“Finally, we need to make the air we breathe safer. Air pollution leads to hundreds of early deaths each year across the West of England. Whoever becomes mayor must act quickly to clean up our air by supporting Clean Air Zones in our cities and large towns and phasing out diesel vehicles.”
Friends of the Earth has teamed up with Bristol Green Capital Partnership to hold a mayoral sustainability hustings in Bristol on 25th April.
Tickets are free and available here.