Our climate commitments
As you have seen, Bexley has a strong track record in looking after our environment. We know that responding to climate change is important to you.
How can everyone help?
As residents of Bexley, it is possible to make small changes that make a big difference across the borough. Many of these changes have multiple benefits, not only do they tackle climate change, but they can also save money, improve our health and wellbeing and keep Bexley a nice place to live.
That is why we have pledged the following:
Glossary of terms
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) - The gas that is released when carbon is burned, or when humans and animals exhale.
Carbon footprint - A carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases (including carbon dioxide and methane) that are generated by our actions.
Climate Change - Long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. These shifts may be natural, such as through variations in the solar cycle. But since the 1800s, human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas. Burning fossil fuels generates greenhouse gas emissions that act like a blanket wrapped around the Earth, trapping the sun’s heat and raising temperatures.
Emissions - The act of sending out light, heat, or gas. Carbon emissions refers to the harmful gases that are released when fuel and other substances are burned for energy.
Green Economy - An economy in which value and growth are maximised across the whole economy, while natural assets are managed sustainably. Such an economy would be supported and enabled by a thriving low carbon and environmental goods and services sector.
Green Jobs - Employment in an activity that directly contributes to - or indirectly supports - the achievement of the UK's net zero emissions target and other environmental goals, such as nature restoration and mitigation against climate risks.2
Greenhouse Gases - Gases in the atmosphere that have influence on the Earth's energy balance. The best known greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide (CO2), methane and nitrous oxide, can be found naturally in low concentrations in the atmosphere. However, the proportion has increased significantly since the beginning of the last century due to various man-made sources.
Net Zero - A state in which the greenhouse gases going into the atmosphere are balanced by their removal out of the atmosphere. The term net zero is important because - for CO2 - this is the state at which global warming stops.
2 Report to Government, Industry and the Skills Sector, Green Jobs Taskforce (14 July 2021)