Agenda item

To receive the report of the Assistant Director for Legal and Governance on any Notices of Motion received by him.

Councillors are asked to note that any Notices of Motion must be received by the Assistant Director for Legal and Governance no later than noon on 6 July 2021.

The Council had before it a Notice of Motion set out in the agenda papers standing in the names of Cllr Mel Allcott, Cllr Lynn Denham, Cllr Dan Boatright, Cllr Richard Udall, Cllr Luke Mallett, Cllr Jake Satterthwaite and Cllr Josh Robinson.

The motion was moved by Cllr Dan Boatright and seconded by Cllr Lynn Denham who spoke in favour of it, and Council agreed to deal with it on the day.

The following amendment was moved by Cllr Tony Miller and Seconded by Cllr Marc Bayliss:

“Climate change is already causing a serious problem for our communities across Worcestershire and society across the world. The Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change’s 2018 Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5% calls for urgent action within 12 years to protect people from the consequences of irreversible climate change. All governments, national, regional, and local have a duty to act.

Council declares a climate emergency and commits to doing the following:

·         Endorse the Councils ambitious Net Zero Carbon Plan.

·         Continue to work with our partner authorities to review and update all relevant strategies.

·         Establish a Member Advisory Group to assist with the future revision of plan and report annually on actions taken.

·         This Council reaffirms the target of reaching net carbon neutral by 2050 in line with the Government’s target.”

In the ensuing debate, the following points were raised:

·         Although the target date of 2050 for becoming net carbon neutral aligned with the government target, it was an unambitious target. It was argued that the target of 2035 was achievable with the right investment strategies. The target of 2050 would be too late to achieve the necessary decrease in temperatures which was required

·         Members described how the global effects of climate change were observable, most recently with the wildfires which had devastated parts of North America. The climate emergency was happening in the present moment. Urgent, systemic change was required, and it was argued that the amendment to set a 2050 target was not soon enough to tackle the crisis

·         The proposed amendment with a 2050 target was more realistic as it enabled the Council to achieve it in a sustainable manner while allowing the Council to provide the level of service provision to meet the needs of the residents of Worcestershire at an affordable cost

·         The amendment aligned the target with the current Government programme. Members outlined several of the different dates which had been set by the Government for climate change targets. It was not necessary to select 2035 as the target for Worcestershire, especially if it would be neither achievable nor viable

·         It was necessary to consider what the Council had already achieved with regard to protecting the environment. The work undertaken with small businesses to reduce power consumption was given as an example. It was hoped that the target would be achieved before 2050 however a date should not be selected which was unachievable

·         The claim that the UK’s climate change strategies were ‘world-leading’ was disputed. Denmark was the only country which was on track to achieve the 2050 target. Several UK authorities were named which it was claimed were doing more to tackle climate change than this Council.

At the conclusion of the debate and on a named vote this amendment was agreed.

Those in favour of the amendment  were: Cllr Steve Mackay, Cllr Alastair Adams, Cllr Salman Akbar, Cllr Allan Amos, Cllr Marc Bayliss, Cllr Bob Brookes, Cllr David chambers, Cllr Brandon Clayton, Cllr Nathan Desmond, Cllr Allah Ditta, Cllr Matt Dormer, Cllr Elizabeth Eyre, Cllr Simon Geraghty, Cllr Laura Gretton, Cllr Peter Griffiths, Cllr Karen Hanks, Cllr Ian Hardiman, Cllr Adrian Hardman, Cllr Paul Harrison, Cllr Marcus Hart, Cllr Bill Hopkins,  Cllr Adam Kent, Cllr Adrian Kriss, Cllr Aled Luckman, Cllr Emma D Marshall, Cllr Karen May, Cllr Tony Miller, Cllr Jo Monk, Cllr Richard Morris, Cllr Tony Muir,  Cllr Tracey Onslow, Cllr Scott Richardson Brown, Cllr Andy Roberts, Cllr Linda Robinson, Cllr Chris Rogers, Cllr David Ross, Cllr Mike Rouse, Cllr James Stanley, Cllr Emma Stokes, Cllr Kit Taylor, Cllr Craig Warhurst and Cllr Shirley Webb. (42)

Those against the amendment were:Cllr Mel Allcott, Cllr Martin Allen, Cllr Dan Boatright, Cllr Lynn Denham, Cllr Matt Jenkins, Cllr Natalie McVey, Cllr Beverley Nielsen, Cllr Jack Satterthwaite, Cllr Richard Udall, and Cllr Tom Wells. (10)

Those abstaining were: Cllr Josh Robinson (1)

Members then debated the substantive motion.  The view was expressed that the 2050 target was not ambitious enough and the Council should set a closer target to focus its efforts.  In response it was suggested that actions already being taken by the Council indicated its intent and that the 2050 date was the latest by which it should reach carbon neutrality.  At the conclusion of the debate and on a named vote, the substantive motion was unanimously agreed.

Those in favour of the motion were: Cllr Steve Mackay (Chairman), Cllr Alastair Adams, Cllr Salman Akbar, Cllr Mel Allcott, Cllr Martin Allen, Cllr Alan Amos, Cllr Marc Bayliss, Cllr Dan Boatright, Cllr Bob Brookes, Cllr David Chambers, Cllr Brandon Clayton, Cllr Lynn Denham, Cllr Nathan Desmond, Cllr Allah Ditta, Cllr Matt Dormer, Cllr Elizabeth Eyre, Cllr Laura Gretton, Cllr Peter Griffiths, Cllr Karen Hanks, Cllr Ian Hardiman, Cllr Adrian Hardman, Cllr Paul Harrison, Cllr Marcus Hart, Cllr Bill Hopkins, Cllr Matt Jenkins, Cllr Adam Kent, Cllr Adrian Kriss, Cllr Aled Luckman, Cllr Emma Marshall, Cllr Karen May, Cllr Natalie McVey, Cllr Tony Miller, Cllr Jo Monk, Cllr Richard Morris, Cllr Tony Muir, Cllr Beverley Nielsen, Cllr Tracey Onslow, Cllr Scott Richardson Brown, Cllr Andy Roberts, Cllr Josh Robinson, Cllr Linda Robinson, Cllr Chris Rogers, Cllr David Ross, Cllr Mike Rouse, Cllr Jack Satterthwaite, Cllr James Stanley, Cllr Emma Stokes, Cllr Kit Taylor, Cllr Richard Udall, Cllr Craig Warhurst, Cllr Shirley Webb and Cllr Tom Wells. (53)

Those against: None (0)

Those Abstaining were: None (0)

RESOLVED: “Climate change is already causing a serious problem for our communities across Worcestershire and society across the world. The Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change’s 2018 Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5% calls for urgent action within 12 years to protect people from the consequences of irreversible climate change. All governments, national, regional, and local have a duty to act.

Council declares a climate emergency and commits to doing the following:

·         Endorse the Councils ambitious Net Zero Carbon Plan.

·         Continue to work with our partner authorities to review and update all relevant strategies.

·         Establish a Member Advisory Group to assist with the future revision of plan and report annually on actions taken.

·         This Council reaffirms the target of reaching net carbon neutral by 2050 in line with the Government’s target.”

Those in favour of the motion were:  Cllr Steve Mackay (Chairman), Cllr Alastair Adams, Cllr Salman Akbar, Cllr Mel Allcott, Cllr Martin Allen, Cllr Alan Amos, Cllr Marc Bayliss, Cllr Dan Boatright, Cllr Bob Brookes, Cllr David Chambers, Cllr Brandon Clayton, Cllr Lynn Denham, Cllr Nathan Desmond, Cllr Allah Ditta, Cllr Matt Dormer, Cllr Elizabeth Eyre, Cllr Laura Gretton, Cllr Peter Griffiths, Cllr Karen Hanks, Cllr Ian Hardiman, Cllr Adrian Hardman, Cllr Paul Harrison, Cllr Marcus Hart, Cllr Bill Hopkins, Cllr Matt Jenkins, Cllr Adam Kent, Cllr Adrian Kriss, Cllr Aled Luckman, Cllr Emma Marshall, Cllr Karen May, Cllr Natalie McVey, Cllr Tony Miller, Cllr Jo Monk, Cllr Richard Morris, Cllr Tony Muir, Cllr Beverley Nielsen, Cllr Tracey Onslow, Cllr Scott Richardson Brown, Cllr Andy Roberts, Cllr Josh Robinson, Cllr Linda Robinson, Cllr Chris Rogers, Cllr David Ross, Cllr Mike Rouse, Cllr Jack Satterthwaite, Cllr James Stanley, Cllr Emma Stokes, Cllr Kit Taylor, Cllr Richard Udall, Cllr Craig Warhurst, Cllr Shirley Webb and Cllr Tom Wells. (53)