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Â鶹´«Ã½, Leicester (Â鶹´«Ã½) has pledged to be one of the first organisations to sign a newly-launched pact aiming to accelerate Leicestershire’s goal to become a net zero county by 2045.

Officially launched by Leicestershire County Council, ‘The Climate and Nature Pact’ aims to bring together, local businesses, voluntary, community and social enterprises, universities and education sectors, the public sector and the people of Leicestershire to drive local action and work towards a shared set of environmental goals.

Organisations involved will share energy saving strategies and work together more strategically to make the region greener.

The core requirements of the pact are the need to act on climate change; reducing carbon emissions to net zero; reducing the impacts of climate change; halting ecological decline and supporting climate recovery; enabling climate action; and working together to deliver greater action.

Â鶹´«Ã½’s Environmental Sustainability Theme Lead for the Universities Partnership, Dr Andrew Reeves, said: “This pact is something which Â鶹´«Ã½ can strongly support, building on our existing commitments and projects to support climate action by citizens and organisations in Leicester and Leicestershire.

“This mirrors our pro-active approach in partnership with Leicester City Council, through which Â鶹´«Ã½ is a founding member of the city’s climate partnership, and further highlights Â鶹´«Ã½'s role as part of the Universities Partnership Civic University Agreement.”

The first 18 signatories to the Leicestershire Climate and Nature Pact are:

• Leicestershire County Council
• Â鶹´«Ã½
• National Forest
• Green Fox Community Energy
• Loughborough University
• University of Leicester
• Midlands Net Zero Hub
• Oadby and Wigston Borough Council
• Cenex
• North West Leicestershire District Council
• LLEP
• Environment Agency
• Charnwood Borough Council
• Tilton Green (community group in Tilton on the Hill)
• Tilton Electric Car Club 
• Halstead Hill Farm 
• Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council
• Blaby District Council

Â鶹´«Ã½’s commitment to the pact is further reflection of the university’s commitments to the city and the county and forms part of its own climate change commitments.

Professor Simon Oldroyd, PVC for Sustainability at Â鶹´«Ã½, said: “Being a signatory to the Leicestershire Climate and Nature Pact is really important to us as a university and as a community in Leicestershire.

“Big challenges such as climate change and the need to reduce carbon emissions require meaningful partnerships of local organisations. I’m proud Â鶹´«Ã½ is involved in this way”

Councillor Blake Pain, cabinet member for the environment and green agenda, said: “The Leicestershire Climate and Nature Pact underlines the urgent need for organisations in the county to work together to deliver our climate commitments, and highlights the fact that we can’t reach net zero on our own – we need a team effort.

“We are leading by example and encouraging partners, businesses, groups and organisations to get involved to help shape a greener future for the county, and for generations to come.”

The newly-launched Pact supports Leicestershire County Council’s Net Zero Strategy and Action Plan, which sets out the scale of the climate emergency, declared in Leicestershire in 2019, and the need to urgently reduce carbon emission. It shares how the authority will lead, enable and inspire people in Leicestershire to achieve the net zero goal.

The Net Zero Leicestershire Strategy and Action plan can be found on the Council’s new , which have been developed to make the Council’s Net Zero information and resources easier to access and to increase involvement.