9. Motions Received under Council Procedure Rule 6
(i) To consider the following Motion submitted in accordance with Council
Procedure Rule 6 by Councillor G. Adamson, Leader of the Council:
“Council notes that:
 Our economic system is enriching a minority while leading humanity
towards climate catastrophe. Our political system is leaving many to feel
powerless and excluded from the key decisions that affect them.
 In 2018, the world’s leading climate scientists – the IPCC – warned that
humanity has only 12 years left in which to cap temperature rises at 1.5C or
face a sharply higher risk of drought, floods and heatwaves.
 The UK Parliament has approved a motion to declare an environment and
climate emergency, and all governments (national, regional and local) have
a duty to limit the negative impacts of climate breakdown.
 Local governments should recognise that they cannot wait for national
government to provide more money and support to reduce emissions, and
commit to the ambition of carbon neutrality by 2030 at the latest.
 Our emissions are a small proportion of our area’s CO2 emissions and that
we achieve more for our environment working co-operatively than we do
Council Notice 17/07/19
alone.
 Every year, our area spends significant amounts on energy. This money
goes out of the local economy to the big energy companies when we
believe that it could be retained through community energy – and that
community energy is a fundamentally important part of the national energy
transition we are undergoing right now.
In light of the above, Council therefore agrees to:
1. Join other Councils in declaring a Climate Emergency, and commit to the
vision of carbon neutrality by 2030 at the latest.
2. Continue to call on Westminster to provide the necessary powers and
resources to make local action on climate change easier.
3. Encourage this Council to explore the expansion of community energy to
keep the benefits of our local energy generation in our local economy.
4. Continue to work with partners anchored in the area to deliver carbon
reductions and grow the local economy.
5. Establish a Citizens Assembly made up of a representative range of our
citizens to establish the facts and make recommendations for our council.”