Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust have joined forces with 13 partners across the city to pen an open letter to our city councillors asking for an ecological emergency to be declared for Sheffield.
We, the below signatories, ask you to declare an ecological or biodiversity emergency for Sheffield by January 31st, 2021.
We are aware the council is planning to do so but feel any further delay will have long-term consequences for the city and its residents.
Many other councils have declared an emergency – alongside a climate emergency – and are now well into developing, and in some cases implementing, a strategy.
We ask Sheffield City Council to commit to a date now so that we can see immediate progress on both a climate and ecological emergency.
Once declared, we expect you to:
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Set clear strategic goals that improve biodiversity across Sheffield by 2030
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Work with organisations across the city on an action plan to achieve the goals.
We ask the council to be open and transparent about the delay and to declare that Sheffield is in an ecological crisis.
Sheffield organisations in support of this letter:
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Sheffield Green Parents
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Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust
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Sheffield Friends of the Earth
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Sheffield Greenpeace
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Sheffield Extinction Rebellion
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Kids Plant Trees
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Schools’ Climate Education South Yorkshire
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National Education Union, Sheffield District
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Green City Heritage
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Greener Practice
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Sheffield Tree Action Groups
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Burngreave Clean Air Campaign
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Regather
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CycleSheffield
We look forward to hearing from you.