Suffolk County Council has declared a climate emergency, after a motion proposed by Green County Councillor Elfrede Brambley Crawshaw and seconded by County Councillor Robert Lindsay was passed near unanimous support.
Only one Conservative voted against the motion with one abstention.
The motion states:
"This Council pledges to:
- Declare a climate emergency.
- Set up a PDP, commencing by September 2019, to investigate ways to cut Suffolk County Council’s carbon and harmful emissions on a spend to save basis, with the ambition to make Suffolk County Council (including all buildings, schools and services) carbon neutral by 2030.
- To work with partners across the county and region, including the LEP and the Public Sector Leaders, towards the aspiration of making the county of Suffolk carbon neutral by 2030.
- To work with Government to a) deliver its 25 year Environment Plan and b) increase the powers and resources available to local authorities in order to make the 2030 target easier to achieve.”
Cllr Brambley Crawshaw said: “Attitudes will need to change for this to work. It won’t happen overnight but this is a good step in the right direction.”
Cllr Lindsay said: “This can’t just depend on a small group of backbench councillors on a panel. It will need support, financial and emotional, from Conservative cabinet members, the leader, senior officers, staff, district councils, the Local Enterprise Partnership and a host of other bodies.”
