Council Motion – Declaration of Climate Emergency
To refer a Motion on declaring a Climate Emergency from the Council meeting on 24 April to this Committee to debate at this meeting.
Decision:
Resolved that the following Motion is agreed:
“This Council notes:
- the impacts of climate breakdown are already causing serious damage around the world;
- unfortunately, while current plans and actions locally are making a difference, they are not enough. The world is on track to overshoot the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C limit before 2050;
iii. the ‘Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C’, published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in October 2018:
- 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
- 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 .
- 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;
- 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; and
vii. individuals cannot be expected to make this reduction on their own. Society needs to change its laws, taxation, infrastructure, etc. to make low carbon living easier and the new norm.
“This Council resolves to:
- declare a ‘Climate Emergency’ that requires urgent action;
- establish a new working group, with a remit to: draw together the work of the Council, already underway, to reduce the impacts of climate change, identify gaps and develop a plan that aims to set a challenging target date of 2038 for carbon neutrality and a baseline figure from which achievement will be measured;
iii. seek advice from experts to develop 5-year carbon budgets, across all the Council’s activities;
- consider the climate change impact of the Council’s activities to inform the action plan;
- assess the feasibility of requiring all risk and procurement assessments to include Carbon Emission Appraisals, including presenting alternative approaches which reduce emissions wherever possible;
- the working group will include council officers, partners and Members from across the Council;
vii. task a director-level officer with responsibility for reducing the carbon emissions resulting from the Council’s activities according to the plan;
viii. equip all our staff, particularly those involved with planning, buildings, energy and transport management and procurement of goods and services, with an awareness of the CO 2 costs and impacts of everyday activities, and the ability and motivation to reduce emissions;
- 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;
- work towards involving the wider community, including local businesses and our young people, in shaping the future, through a workshop or Citizens’ Assemblies; and
- 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.”
Minutes:
The Committee debated a Motion ‘ Declaration of Climate Emergency’ which had been referred from full Council on 24 April 2019, in accordance with Standing Order No 8(A)(3) and (6), for debate by this Committee. At full Council the Motion had been proposed by Councillor Hilary Gander and seconded by Councillor Sam Foulder-Hughes; and, with the permission of the Committee, Councillor Foulder-Hughes spoke at the meeting in support of the Motion.
Officer-level briefing notes were provided to assist Members to debate the Motion. (These included the wording of requests from two deputations at the 24 April Council meeting to bring forward the proposed target date for reducing carbon emissions to 2025.)
In November 2018, Bristol and Manchester, passed motions with targets aiming to be carbon neutral by 2030 and 2038 respectively. Since then, there has been a wave of Climate Emergency declarations by local authorities across the UK; most councils have set a target of 2038 to become carbon neutral, a few 2050 and beyond.
A working group will be tasked with considering the full extent of actions that can be taken, assessing the implications and recommending a realistic target date, to be reported back to this Committee in autumn 2019. The working group would include officers from Commissioning, Contract Management, Housing, Transport, Planning, Property, Regeneration, Strategy and AfC and look at what is required for the Council to reduce local climate impacts and draw up an action plan to progress the actions set out in the Motion. The action plan would include a programme for engaging all communities.
At the meeting, among the issues raised during the discussion were:
- climate change is the major threat facing humanity and brings a range of harmful changes which the next generations will face, including the threat of climate-related food shortages
- members of Kingston Extinction Rebellion attended the meeting who supported a declaration of a climate emergency (commenting that the local MP, Ed Davey, has said that this was a ‘no-brainer’), urging the Council to act with ambition and innovation – even if the target of 2025 is not being chosen, it was hoped that the Council would take action urgently and treat the issue as a real emergency (in the words of Greta Thurnberg) ‘as if one’s house were on fire’
- the Council was asked to put protection of its rich biodiversity and improving air quality at the heart of its plans. The Council has a legal duty under the Natural Environment and Rural Communities (NERC) Act (2006. Section 40) which requires all public bodies to have regard to biodiversity conservation when carrying out their functions. [The working group will include consideration of biodiversity; public contributions of ideas for the working group are welcomed; it is fully understood that this is a huge undertaking.]
- expansion of Heathrow Airport will increase greenhouse gases and therefore contribute to climate change – what is the Council doing to oppose it? The Council has responded to consultations vigorously opposing the third runway and supporting the campaign against the third runway.
- The Council is asked to look at best practice in other local authorities, to do as much as we can, as soon as possible – the Oxford Energy Project is recommended for a range of innovative solutions
- Will there be a Citizens’ Assembly on Climate Change as well as on Air Quality?
- Given how important the Local Plan will be for addressing climate change issues, can we publicise the current consultation on the Local Plan on the Council’s noticeboards?
- The Council needs to avoid cutting down trees
- Fluvial flooding is a particular threat to Kingston in the future – there is currently over-reliance on the Thames Barrier to hold back flood water which is a function it was not designed for – should the Barrier fail, the decision may be taken to held back water at the Teddington Lock to protect central London, with the consequent effect of flooding in the borough. The Council needs to act together with other authorities upstream to lobby government
- Strategic consideration also needs to be given to the lack of facilities for storage of water in London.
Resolved that the following Motion is agreed:
“This Council notes:
- the impacts of climate breakdown are already causing serious damage around the world;
- unfortunately, while current plans and actions locally are making a difference, they are not enough. The world is on track to overshoot the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C limit before 2050;
iii. the ‘Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C’, published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in October 2018:
- 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
- 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 .
- 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;
- strong policies to cut emissions also have associated health, wellbeing and economic benefits; recognising this,
- a growing number of UK local authorities have already passed ‘Climate Emergency’ motions; and
vii. individuals cannot be expected to make this reduction on their own. Society needs to change its laws, taxation, infrastructure, etc. to make low carbon living easier and the new norm.
“This Council resolves to:
- declare a ‘Climate Emergency’ that requires urgent action;
- establish a new working group, with a remit to: draw together the work of the Council, already underway, to reduce the impacts of climate change, identify gaps and develop a plan that aims to set a challenging target date of 2038 for carbon neutrality and a baseline figure from which achievement will be measured;
iii. seek advice from experts to develop 5-year carbon budgets, across all the Council’s activities;
- consider the climate change impact of the Council’s activities to inform the action plan;
- assess the feasibility of requiring all risk and procurement assessments to include Carbon Emission Appraisals, including presenting alternative approaches which reduce emissions wherever possible;
- the working group will include council officers, partners and Members from across the Council;
vii. task a director-level officer with responsibility for reducing the carbon emissions resulting from the Council’s activities according to the plan;
viii. equip all our staff, particularly those involved with planning, buildings, energy and transport management and procurement of goods and services, with an awareness of the CO 2 costs and impacts of everyday activities, and the ability and motivation to reduce emissions;
- 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;
- work towards involving the wider community, including local businesses and our young people, in shaping the future, through a workshop or Citizens’ Assemblies; and
- 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.”
