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Extract from the printed Council minutes, 20th November 2019
“Upon a notice of motion received in the name of Councillor Payne, a
proposition was moved by Councillor Payne, seconded by Councillor
Clarke, in the following terms:
This Council notes that:
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has
found that global warming is likely to reach 1.5C by 2050. The
Met Office predicts that the impact of climate change on the UK
will include, but is not limited to, flooding of coastal and inland
areas, increased demand on energy during hotter summers and
colder winters, species loss and extinction, damage to
infrastructure that is not equipped for extremes of temperature
and an increase in illnesses caused by extremes of temperature;
Parliament and over 200 councils across the country have
already declared a climate emergency, recognising the
seriousness of the situation and committing to take action in their
local area;
Local government has the ability to make an impact at a local
level, including greening the council estate, fleet and housing
stock by working with housing associations and landlords, as well
as working with local industry to help and incentivise them to
operate more sustainably. However, local councils have also
seen their budgets cut by 60p in every £1 since 2010, which has
had a crippling effect on public services and will severely impact
the ability of councils to reach their full potential in tackling the
causes of climate change;
A recent survey by ComRes has found that 71% of UK adults
think that climate change is a more pressing long term issue than
Brexit, and 60% of adults feel that the UK government is not
doing enough to prioritise the climate crisis;
Co-operatives, community energy companies, local and national
campaign groups and charities have already been taking action to
tackle climate change, raising public awareness about climate
change and environmental issues such as single use plastics and
air quality;
Action needs to be taken now in order to minimise the impact and
reach of temperature rises and climate change, and that there
should be an ambition of carbon neutrality by 2030 at the latest.
This Council resolves that Gedling Borough Council will:
Join with other councils and Parliament in declaring a Climate
Emergency;
Set a goal and vision of becoming carbon neutral across Gedling
borough by 2030;
Ensure that this work doesn’t just focus on the activity of Gedling
Borough Council, but also reaches out to partners and residents
to help them reduce their carbon footprint;
Produce a practical and robust action plan to ensure that all
councillors and officers are clear what Gedling Borough Council
will do to tackle the climate emergency;
Work with employers in the borough, including businesses, the
third sector, charities and the public sector to encourage them to
take steps to reduce their carbon emissions and operate in a
more sustainable way, and learn from any best practice that
they’ve already put in place;
Work with local MPs to lobby the Government, as well as
Labour’s front bench and other major political parties to ensure
that local government is given the powers and funding they need
to tackle the climate emergency and make our borough greener.
RESOLVED to:
1) Join with other councils and Parliament in declaring a Climate
Emergency;
2) Set a goal and vision of becoming carbon neutral across
Gedling borough by 2030;
3) Ensure that this work doesn’t just focus on the activity of
Gedling Borough Council, but also reaches out to partners and
residents to help them reduce their carbon footprint;
4) Produce a practical and robust action plan to ensure that all
councillors and officers are clear what Gedling Borough
Council will do to tackle the climate emergency;
5) Work with employers in the borough, including businesses, the
third sector, charities and the public sector to encourage them
to take steps to reduce their carbon emissions and operate in
a more sustainable way, and learn from any best practice that
they’ve already put in place;
6) Work with local MPs to lobby the Government, as well as
Labour’s front bench and other major political parties to
ensure that local government is given the powers and funding
they need to tackle the climate emergency and make our
borough greener.
Vote: 38 For, 0 Against, 0 Abstentions
