Agenda item

To consider a report of the Chief Executive regarding the referral of a motion from County Council on 17 May 2019

Cabinet received a report of the Chief Executive regarding the referral of a

motion from County Council on 17 May 2019.

With the agreement of the Leader, three non-executive Members addressed Cabinet on this item.

Councillor Warwick noted that there was a collective responsibility to tackle climate change and that the Council’s carbon footprint was within its own control. She welcomed initiatives already in place on transport, energy, street lighting and the protection of the countryside.

Councillor Westbrook called for a mentality change to the threat of climate change. He supported a commitment to carbon neutrality and expressed his concern about the de-prioritisation of climate change by central government. He highlighted the extent to which concern was shared by young people and the need to reduce carbon emissions across all sectors in unison.

Councillor Tod addressed Cabinet as the proposer of the original Motion to Council. He paid tribute to the young people campaigning for change and felt there was an opportunity to take action. He highlighted that the urgency and scale of the problem meant it did amount to an emergency and that should be reflected in any action that was taken. He called for a plan for 100% carbon neutrality and to look beyond the Council’s own assets to include all policies and areas of service delivery and become core to the Council’s work.

The Leader thanked all three Members for their contribution.

The Director of Economy, Transport and Environment acknowledged the breadth of issues relating to climate change and noted that the action plan to follow up any pledge would be critical. He confirmed that the County Council had a strong track record of action, but couldn’t act alone on this matter. He welcomed the proposal for clear targets, that were also both ambitious and realistic.

The Leader welcomed the Prime Minister’s initiative for carbon neutrality by 2050 and felt that the County Council should take its own action to build on the success of past initiatives including those relating to schools, streetlighting, vehicles and in the Council’s own buildings. Within this, the outcomes of the Commission of Inquiry to 2050 should be taken into account.

It was proposed by the Leader and seconded by Councillor Humby:

“That Cabinet declares a ‘Climate Emergency’ in line with the action taken by many other Councils and organisations in the UK and globally, and commits to develop an action plan to provide a meaningful and effective set of measures to ensure that Hampshire moves towards carbon neutrality and greater resilience to the effects of climate change.

Furthermore because of the widespread public and member interest in this matter, that Cabinet recommends that the County Council endorses this decision”

Cabinet discussed the proposed recommendation, noting the importance of environmental stewardship and the threat of climate change to the current way of life. It was agreed that the recognition of the emergency was timely and the significance of turning a pledge into actions was noted.

The recommendation as proposed was agreed. A decision record is attached to these minutes.