How do locals think Bristol can be greener?

National World - LocalTV

From the Floating Harbour to the Downs, Bristol’s green ambition runs deep. The city has committed to hitting net zero by twenty thirty — that means slashing carbon emissions from homes, transport, and businesses. Bristol was the first UK city to declare a climate emergency back in 2018, and it’s now investing over four hundred million pounds in clean energy, housing retrofits, and sustainable transport. But with the clock ticking, the big question is: can we get there in time?

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00:00From the floating harbour to Durdham Downs, Bristol's green ambition runs deep.

00:06The city has committed to hitting net zero by 2030.

00:10That means slashing carbon emissions from homes, transport and businesses.

00:15Bristol was the first UK city to declare a climate emergency back in 2018

00:20and is now investing over £400 million into clean energy, housing and sustainable transport.

00:27But with the clock ticking, the big question is, can we get there in time?

00:33Getting from A to B in Bristol is going green.

00:36More than 60 kilometres of new cycle lanes have been added since 2020

00:41and e-scooters now cover most of the city.

00:46I mean, just thinking of Bristol immediately, it's trying hard, but it's not the best.

00:51Like, I think it could be more friendly with cycle lanes,

00:54like then fewer people would be driving.

00:56It's quite a car-heavy city from, like, what I see

01:00and, like, the bit that I'm usually hanging out in.

01:04So, yeah, I think, like, that always helps.

01:07And there's still, like, a lot of traffic in Bristol,

01:10so I guess it can't be that green,

01:12otherwise, like, people would be cycling more and using the buses.

01:15Well, I walk across the Downs, so that's very green there,

01:18but it's the Down dwellers that are spoiling it, really spoiling it.

01:22The City Council wants four in ten journeys to be made by bike, foot or public transport by 2030.

01:29It's a bold target, but if the city's clean air zone and low-traffic neighbourhoods keep expanding,

01:35it just might happen.

01:37Heating our homes is one of the biggest sources of emissions,

01:41and Bristol's tackling it head-on.

01:43The city is rolling out insulation, solar panels and heat pumps in thousands of properties.

01:49More than 90,000 tonnes of carbon could be saved every year if the city hits its energy.

01:55Oh, well, where we are, I still think it...

01:58I would have said that we've still got a big traffic problem,

02:04and I think something's radical got to be done.

02:07Bristol called itself the cycling city at one point,

02:13but I feel that was just a few marks on the road,

02:16and the cyclists were pushed into the gutter.

02:19So they're at last doing something about that.

02:23I think the recycling malarkey is a shambles,

02:28and when you do recycle,

02:32you're not quite sure it's going off to West Africa to be burnt in Africa.

02:39We're exploiting, rather, and exploiting.

02:46No, I think they do quite well.

02:47I mean, look around here.

02:48It's in the middle, so you've got some trees,

02:50and that was really nice.

02:52So it's good.

02:52Do you know what I would say is, like, frequency of bus routes?

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