On the road to tackling carbon emissions
24 Jun 2014 11:55 AM
Community groups gear up to handle climate
change.
Local communities across Scotland are taking action
against the damaging impact of climate change thanks to support from the
Scottish Government’s Climate Challenge Fund (CCF).
Minister for Environment and Climate Change Paul
Wheelhouse yesterday visited the Cycling into Sustainability project –
which last year received over £170,000 from the CCF - to hear how their
Bike Doctor events and training in cycle skills and bike maintenance is helping
local communities in Stirling, Clackmannanshire and Falkirk reduce carbon
emissions and tackle climate change.
Mr
Wheelhouse also announced the latest round of CCF funding which will see 18
projects throughout Scotland receive over £2.2 million – taking the
total number of projects funded by the CCF to 676 with a total value of more
than £59 million.
Among the latest recipients:
- The
Broadford and Strath Community Company on the Isle of Skye has been awarded
£58,500 to create a community growing hub to encourage local people,
hotels and restaurants to grow and source food locally.
- U
power has been awarded £221,558 to work with young people in Midlothian
to promote lower carbon behaviour such as cycling and consumption of local
food.
- Save Energy Saves the Environment have been awarded
£122,060 to work with an ethnic minority community, particularly women
and disadvantaged members of the communities in the South and North of Glasgow,
to raise awareness of climate change and how to reduce energy
use.
Mr
Wheelhouse said:
“Scotland is on track to meet our world-leading
2020 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target but climate change is still one
of the most serious threats facing our global community.
“As a result of the Climate Challenge Fund (CCF)
harmful greenhouse gas emissions are being steadily reduced and we are building
more resilient communities throughout Scotland.
“To date we have invested £59 million in the
Climate Challenge Fund – including an increase in this year’s
budget from £10.5m to £11.8m thanks to the ever increasing number
of quality applications coming forward. I am confident based on what I have
seen first-hand that this has been a good investment and money well
spent.
“I am extremely pleased to announce today that a
further 18 applications have been awarded CCF grants totalling £2.2
million. It is great to see that 11 are community food projects, in keeping
with our aspiration for Scotland to become a Good Food Nation.
“I am also particularly pleased to say that three
of those projects are being taken forward by young people under the age of 21
who will contribute to making Scotland a more sustainable place to live for
generations to come.
“Although no one individual, group or nation can
solve the problem of climate change every project announced today will play a
part in making a real and lasting difference, not just locally or nationally
but globally.”
David
Gunn, Climate Challenge Fund Manager at Keep
Scotland Beautiful, said:
“We were extremely pleased to join the Minister
for Environment and Climate Change, Paul Wheelhouse, as he announced the latest
Climate Challenge Fund grant recipients and celebrated the work of CCF funded
project Cycling into Sustainability.
“Keep Scotland Beautiful is very proud to manage
the Climate Challenge Fund on behalf of the Scottish Government and we
encourage community groups to apply now for grants up to £150,000 per
project available in the 2015-2016 financial year.
“We look forward to supporting many more community
groups in their Climate Challenge Fund project applications and implementation
and see it as part of our work to help make Scotland clean and green, today and
tomorrow.”
The Climate Challenge Fund (CCF) is a Scottish Government
programme, managed by Keep Scotland Beautiful, which provides funding for
community groups that are tackling climate change through local community-led
projects.
View
details on all successful applicants to the Climate Challenge
Fund this round.
Since it was launched in June 2008, the CCF has awarded
over £59 million to 676 projects in almost 500 communities across
Scotland. All applications are assessed by an Independent Grants
Panel.
The
CCF Ideas Bank enables community groups to access potential project ideas that
have been proposed by other organisations who will be able to work in
partnership with the community.
Keep Scotland Beautiful enables action on
sustainable development, by helping organisations and communities reduce their
carbon emissions and environmental impact so that Scotland plays its part in
meeting the challenges of climate change; it is part of its work to help make
Scotland clean and green, today and tomorrow.
Greener Scotland is a one-stop website for greener
living – combining a wide range of information and resources to help
everyone in the country go greener together.
Becoming a Good Food Nation is the next phase of
Scotland’s National Food and Drink Policy:http://news.scotland.gov.uk/News/Becoming-a-Good-Food-Nation-dd6.aspx