County Hall played host to the second biannual climate conference which focused on the future of Essex travel.

Cllr Peter Schwier, Essex County Council Climate Czar, welcomed an audience to share ideas and expertise on what the future of transport in Essex could look like.

The audience consisted of local city, district and borough councillors as well as members of environmental groups, recipients of the Climate Action Challenge Fund and national and international businesses.

Oxfordshire County Council explained how they are reducing traffic and congestion in Oxford. The Council’s focus is to support a strong bus service alongside active travel as the first choices for getting around the city.

Lucy Parkin of Kleanbus set out how existing buses could be retrofitted with electric vehicle technology to make the move to cleaner public transport more affordable.

John Lippe, Director of City Engagement at Ford outlined plans to step up electric vehicle production across Ford’s core fleet. Their target is that all of their vehicles will be fully battery electric and carbon neutral by 2035.

Richard Lidstone-Scott of Tevva showcased their new electric freight vehicles.

Jerry Stokes, Gridserve Executive Chairman, set out their commitment to renewable energy to power electric vehicle charging – their ‘sun to wheel’ principle – and the expansion of their charging network in the UK. Established in 2020, Gridserve in Braintree is Europe’s first electric vehicle charging station of its kind and is fully solar powered.

Julia Crear of Living Streets, and one of the Essex Climate Action Commissioners, made the urgent case for a move to walking and cycling with better health, lower pollution and greener spaces for us all.

Emily Harrup of Colchester Borough Council set out how companies were starting to use cargo bikes alongside a surge of interest from residents. 

Speaking of the conference, Cllr Schwier said, “These conferences highlight the progress we are making here in Essex with our own investment in active travel and our new responsive electric bus service DigiGo to make travel Safer, Greener, Healthier. This has also helped us understand new developments and what others are doing to inspire further climate action throughout the county.

“We are showing how dedicated we are to ensuring transport in Essex becomes safer, greener and healthier with a commitment to active travel and improved public transport being one way that we can achieve this.”

The £200 million Essex County Council Climate Action Plan identifies transport as a key sector in creating a high-quality environment as Essex County Council continues its efforts of becoming a net zero county by 2050.

To catch up on the conference and hear what the speakers had to say, you can access the recording here.