Lord Mayor of Oxford sets up £10,000 climate change fund

Craig Simmons has created a fundraising website and set a target of £10,000.

The funds will be used to help get local community energy projects running, aiming to directly reduce local impact on global warming.

Explaining his thinking, the Green Party city councillor who was sworn in as Lord Mayor on May 13, said: "As Lord Mayor I am focused on how the city can play its part in the face of the global threat of climate change.

"The climate crisis is an emergency that requires actions at all levels of government; local, regional and national.

"What the climate scientists tell us is that we need is to act quickly to reduce our carbon emissions."

The money raised by the fund will specifically go to Oxford's Low Carbon Hub organisation.

The group has an existing community energy fund which provides cash to help set up energy projects such as solar panels on school rooftops and hydroelectric schemes.

The Lord Mayor’s Charity Trust will invest in these schemes, but as they start generating electricity which is then sold back to the National Grid, the trust will also recoup dividends each year on its investments.

The Low Carbon Hub, a social enterprise, describes its aim as 'to prove it's possible to meet our energy needs in a way that’s good for people and good for the planet'.

It originally grew out of a collaboration between Oxford City Council and low carbon groups from across the city, working together to deliver local action to tackle the global issue of climate change.

The group said it was 'thrilled' that Mr Simmons had chosen to invest in its community energy fund.

Find out more and donate to the Lord Mayor's climate change fund at gofundme.com/oxford-lord-mayor-climate-change-fund