Lord Mayor of Belfast, Cllr Daniel Baker introduced the 12 vehicles yesterday, 15 January, as part of Belfast City Council's plans to review its fleet.
Cllr Baker said: "Climate change has reached a point where we need to make urgent and concerted efforts to understand and prepare for its impact.
"Our goal is to transition Belfast to an inclusive, low carbon, climate-resilient economy within a generation, so there is work to be done.
"Today sees us take another step on that journey with the introduction of these new electric vehicles which will be trialled in our parks."
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The Mayor also followed up the trial with a call to people across Belfast to help shape action on climate change by sharing their views on the Council's draft resilience strategy. Actions outlined in the strategy include significantly improving levels of tree planting across the city, reducing commuters' dependency on cars, improving air quality, and developing a 'green' policy for the city's festivals and cultural sector.
Councillor Baker added: "Over recent months we have seen young people show strong civic leadership on climate issues; we know that it is something they are concerned about and which has implications for their generation and the next.
"Inaction is not an option and there is a renewed sense of urgency for us to be, not only climate resilient, but resilient as a city to shocks and stresses – both those we can plan for, and those which are unexpected."
Anyone interested in sharing thoughts on the Council's draft resilience strategy can do so here.
(CM/JG)
