Ahead of COP26 residents, businesses and young people across the Sheffield Heeley constituency have been sharing their priorities and pledges with Louise Haigh MP about how the climate crisis should be addressed.

She has heard from hundreds of people via the Big Green Conversation event, her climate survey and by visiting primary and secondary schools in the constituency to identify their climate priorities to make changes within the community, across Sheffield and priorities for government.

Some of the priorities that have been identified by residents across the constituency and Sheffield include

• Making it easier for the community to recycle, offering more household recycling and community recycling points.
• Educating young people about the climate crisis and what changes they could make.
• Encouraging more people to walk and cycle shorter journeys instead of using their cars to travel
• Support communities to transform green spaces and gardens into natural spaces by planting wildflowers, trees and encouraging more wildlife
• Supporting the creation of community nature champions
• Campaigning for cheaper, more reliable, and accessible public transport for all.

The government priorities that have been identified include:

• All new build homes should have electric car charging points
• Better public transport connectivity across England.
• More and better training for green jobs
• Supporting businesses to make green choices and invest in green technology

It’s great to see that there are so many passionate and dedicated people across the Sheffield Heeley constituency and the whole of Sheffield, who are determined to address the climate crisis and play their own part in addressing the issues.

It’s been inspiring to hear what changes they have made in their own lives, and it’s great that we’ve had so many suggestions that we can implement as a community.

I will be taking some of the suggestions about what the government should be prioritising to COP26 and sharing this with leaders.

We must all play our part and take action now. COP26 is the world’s opportunity to agree coordinated action to address the climate change. If we all play our small part, then we can all make a big difference.