MOTION UNDER STANDING ORDER NO. 4 – CLIMATE
CHANGE
It was moved by Councillor McMulkin and seconded by Councillor
McKeon –
Council notes:
That the impacts of climate breakdown are already causing
serious damage around the world.
That the ‘Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C’,
published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change in October 2018, (a) describes the enormous harm
that a 2°C average rise in global temperatures is likely to
cause compared with a 1.5°C rise, and (b) confirms that
limiting Global Warming to 1.5°C may still be possible with
ambitious action from national and sub-national authorities,
civil society and the private sector.
That all governments (national, regional and local) have a
duty to act, and local governments that recognise this
should not wait for their national governments to change
their policies;
That strong policies to cut emissions also have associated
health, wellbeing and economic benefits; and that,
recognising this, a growing number of UK local authorities
have already passed ‘Climate Emergency’ motions.
Council therefore commits to:
Declare a ‘Climate Emergency’ that requires urgent action;
Make the Council’s activities net-zero carbon by 2030
Achieve 100% clean energy across the Council’s full range
of functions by 2030;
Ensure that all strategic decisions, budgets and approaches
to planning decisions are in line with a shift to zero carbon
by 2030;
Support and work with all other relevant agencies towards
making the entire area zero carbon within the same
timescale;
Ensure that political and chief officer leadership teams
embed this work in all areas and take responsibility for
reducing, as rapidly as possible, the carbon emissions
resulting from the Council’s activities, ensuring that any
recommendations are fully costed and that the Executive
and Scrutiny functions review council activities taking
account of production and consumption emissions and
produce an action plan within 12 months, together with
budget actions and a measured baseline;
Request that Council Scrutiny Panels consider the impact of
climate change and the environment when reviewing
Council policies and strategies;
Work with, influence and inspire partners across the district,
county and region to help deliver this goal through all
relevant strategies, plans and shared resources by
developing a series of meetings, events and partner
workshops;
Request that the Council and partners take steps to
proactively include young people in the process, ensuring
that they have a voice in shaping the future;
Request that the Executive Portfolio holder with
responsibility for Climate Change convenes a Citizens’
Assembly in 2019 in order to involve the wider population in
this process. This group would help develop their own role,
identify how the Council’s activities might be made net-zero
carbon by 2030, consider the latest climate science and
expert advice on solutions and to consider systematically
the climate change impact of each area of the Council’s
activities;
Set up a Climate Change Partnership group, involving
Councillors, residents, young citizens, climate science and
solutions experts, businesses, Citizens Assembly
representatives and other relevant parties. Over the
following 12 months, the Group will consider strategies and
actions being developed by the Council and other partner
organisations and develop a strategy in line with a target of
net zero emissions by 2030. It will also recommend ways to
maximise local benefits of these actions in other sectors
such as employment, health, agriculture, transport and the
economy
Report on the level of investment in the fossil fuel industry
that our pensions plan and other investments have, and
review the Council’s investment strategy to give due
consideration to climate change impacts in the investment
portfolio;
Ensure that all reports in preparation for the 2020/21 budget
cycle and investment strategy will take into account the
actions the council will take to address this emergency;
Call on the UK Government to provide the powers,
resources and help with funding to make this possible, and
ask local MPs to do likewise; and
Consider other actions that could be implemented, including
(but not restricted to): renewable energy generation and
storage, providing electric vehicle infrastructure and
encouraging alternatives to private car use, increasing the
efficiency of buildings, in particular to address fuel poverty;
proactively using local planning powers to accelerate the
delivery of net carbon new developments and communities,
coordinating a series of information and training events to
raise awareness and share good practice.
The Motion was then put to the vote when the voting was as
follows:-
For the Motion, 27 viz:
Councillors Adia, Ayub, Bagnall, Cunliffe, Donaghy,
Eckersley-Fallon, Evans, Flitcroft, Gibbon, Hayes, Haworth,
Hornby, Iqbal, McKeon, McGeown, McMulkin, Morris,
Murray, Newall, Pattison, Peel, Sanders, Sherrington,
Silvester, Mrs. Thomas, Wilkinson and Zaman.
Against the Motion, 0
Abstained, 19 viz:
Councillors Allen, Baines, Brady, Connor, Cox,
Cunningham, Dean, Fletcher, Galloway, Greenhalgh,
Haslam, Heslop, Hewitt, Morgan, Muslim, Parkinson, J.
Walsh, Warren and C. Wild.
Whereupon, the motion was declared carried.
CHANGE
It was moved by Councillor McMulkin and seconded by Councillor
McKeon –
Council notes:
That the impacts of climate breakdown are already causing
serious damage around the world.
That the ‘Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C’,
published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change in October 2018, (a) describes the enormous harm
that a 2°C average rise in global temperatures is likely to
cause compared with a 1.5°C rise, and (b) confirms that
limiting Global Warming to 1.5°C may still be possible with
ambitious action from national and sub-national authorities,
civil society and the private sector.
That all governments (national, regional and local) have a
duty to act, and local governments that recognise this
should not wait for their national governments to change
their policies;
That strong policies to cut emissions also have associated
health, wellbeing and economic benefits; and that,
recognising this, a growing number of UK local authorities
have already passed ‘Climate Emergency’ motions.
Council therefore commits to:
Declare a ‘Climate Emergency’ that requires urgent action;
Make the Council’s activities net-zero carbon by 2030
Achieve 100% clean energy across the Council’s full range
of functions by 2030;
Ensure that all strategic decisions, budgets and approaches
to planning decisions are in line with a shift to zero carbon
by 2030;
Support and work with all other relevant agencies towards
making the entire area zero carbon within the same
timescale;
Ensure that political and chief officer leadership teams
embed this work in all areas and take responsibility for
reducing, as rapidly as possible, the carbon emissions
resulting from the Council’s activities, ensuring that any
recommendations are fully costed and that the Executive
and Scrutiny functions review council activities taking
account of production and consumption emissions and
produce an action plan within 12 months, together with
budget actions and a measured baseline;
Request that Council Scrutiny Panels consider the impact of
climate change and the environment when reviewing
Council policies and strategies;
Work with, influence and inspire partners across the district,
county and region to help deliver this goal through all
relevant strategies, plans and shared resources by
developing a series of meetings, events and partner
workshops;
Request that the Council and partners take steps to
proactively include young people in the process, ensuring
that they have a voice in shaping the future;
Request that the Executive Portfolio holder with
responsibility for Climate Change convenes a Citizens’
Assembly in 2019 in order to involve the wider population in
this process. This group would help develop their own role,
identify how the Council’s activities might be made net-zero
carbon by 2030, consider the latest climate science and
expert advice on solutions and to consider systematically
the climate change impact of each area of the Council’s
activities;
Set up a Climate Change Partnership group, involving
Councillors, residents, young citizens, climate science and
solutions experts, businesses, Citizens Assembly
representatives and other relevant parties. Over the
following 12 months, the Group will consider strategies and
actions being developed by the Council and other partner
organisations and develop a strategy in line with a target of
net zero emissions by 2030. It will also recommend ways to
maximise local benefits of these actions in other sectors
such as employment, health, agriculture, transport and the
economy
Report on the level of investment in the fossil fuel industry
that our pensions plan and other investments have, and
review the Council’s investment strategy to give due
consideration to climate change impacts in the investment
portfolio;
Ensure that all reports in preparation for the 2020/21 budget
cycle and investment strategy will take into account the
actions the council will take to address this emergency;
Call on the UK Government to provide the powers,
resources and help with funding to make this possible, and
ask local MPs to do likewise; and
Consider other actions that could be implemented, including
(but not restricted to): renewable energy generation and
storage, providing electric vehicle infrastructure and
encouraging alternatives to private car use, increasing the
efficiency of buildings, in particular to address fuel poverty;
proactively using local planning powers to accelerate the
delivery of net carbon new developments and communities,
coordinating a series of information and training events to
raise awareness and share good practice.
The Motion was then put to the vote when the voting was as
follows:-
For the Motion, 27 viz:
Councillors Adia, Ayub, Bagnall, Cunliffe, Donaghy,
Eckersley-Fallon, Evans, Flitcroft, Gibbon, Hayes, Haworth,
Hornby, Iqbal, McKeon, McGeown, McMulkin, Morris,
Murray, Newall, Pattison, Peel, Sanders, Sherrington,
Silvester, Mrs. Thomas, Wilkinson and Zaman.
Against the Motion, 0
Abstained, 19 viz:
Councillors Allen, Baines, Brady, Connor, Cox,
Cunningham, Dean, Fletcher, Galloway, Greenhalgh,
Haslam, Heslop, Hewitt, Morgan, Muslim, Parkinson, J.
Walsh, Warren and C. Wild.
Whereupon, the motion was declared carried.
