UPDATES

26th September 2019 Scrutiny Task & Finish Group – Climate Emergency
Link to webcast of debate at Trafford Council.

Link to Cllr. Jane Brophy’s speech.

Text of Motion (as amended and passed):

“Council notes the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC) report ‘Global warming of 1.5°’ published on 8 October 2018, in
particular:
– That human activities are estimated to have already caused approximately
1.0°C of global warming above pre-industrial levels;
– That if we continue at the current rate, we are likely to surpass the Paris
Agreement target of 1.5°C as early as 2030;
– That at the current level of commitments, the world is on course for 3°C of
warming with irreversible and catastrophic consequences for humans and
the natural world.
Council believes that:
– That the impacts of global temperature rise above 1.5°C, are so severe
that governments at all levels must work together and make this their top
priority.
– As well as large-scale improvements in health and wellbeing around the
world, bold climate action can deliver economic benefits in terms of new
jobs, economic savings and market opportunities.
Therefore, Council agrees:
– To declare a ‘climate emergency’.
– To establish a new task and finish group, with a remit to:
(i) Seek advice from experts to develop a carbon budget and set a
challenging target date for carbon neutrality in Trafford;
(ii) Consider systematically the climate change impact of each area of the
Council’s activities;
(iii) Make recommendations and set an ambitious timescale for reducing
these impacts;
(iv) To assess the feasibility of requiring all report risk assessments to
include Carbon Emission Appraisals, including presenting alternative
approaches which reduce emissions wherever possible;
(v) Report to full Council with the actions the Council needs to take to
address this emergency.
– To task a director level officer with responsibility for reducing as rapidly as
possible, the carbon emissions resulting from the Council’s activities.
– To produce a report to the next Full Council on the level of investment in
the fossil fuel industry that our pensions plan and other investments have.
– That the Leader will write to the Prime Minister to inform her that Trafford
has declared a climate emergency and ask her to provide the resources
and powers necessary to deal with it.”

The motion was amended to add that there was some work to be done around how carbon emission are measured, so this issue referred to Scrutiny Committee for their consideration.