Declaring a Climate Emergency
Councillor John Reynolds will move the following motion:
That the Council notes:
 That the impacts of climate change 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.
This report is PUBLIC
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Therefore, in order to address this emergency, the Council commits to:
 Declare a ‘Climate Emergency’ that requires urgent action;
 Make the Council’s activities net-zero carbon by 2028;
 Ensure that all strategic decisions, budgets and approaches to planning and
regulatory decisions are in line with a shift to zero carbon by 2028;
 Support and work with all partners in the City towards making the city zero carbon
within the same timescale;
 Ensure that all Council 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;
 The Council’s Scrutiny Panels considering the impact of climate change and the
environment when reviewing Council policies and strategies;
 Work with, influence and inspire partners across the city, Black Country,
Combined Authority and wider region, to help deliver this goal through all relevant
strategies and plans;
 Develop “Future Generations: Climate Change and Energy Strategy” and present
this for agreement at Full Council in January 2020;
 Proactively include young people in the process, ensuring that they are involved in
the co-production and co-design of the Future Generations Strategy and have a
voice in shaping the future of the City;
 Welcome the appointment of a Councillor Champion for Climate Change, and
request the Sustainability Advisory Group to develop its role to provide oversight of
the Future Generations Strategy;
 Report on the level of investment in the fossil fuel industry that the West Midlands
pension fund has, and request a review of the investment strategy to give due
consideration to climate change impacts in the investment portfolio;
 Ensure that all reports in preparation for forthcoming budget cycles 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.