East Sussex County Council’s Carbon Neutral Date Could Be Brought Forward

Wednesday, 14 July 2021 06:31

By Huw Oxburgh, local democracy reporter

Calls to speed up a push towards carbon neutrality are set to go before a senior county councillor this week.

On Thursday (July 15), East Sussex County Council’s lead member for resources and climate change Nick Bennett is set to consider a notice of motion, which calls on the authority to bring forward its carbon neutral target date from 2050 to 2030.

The motion, from Liberal Democrat group leader David Tutt, comes almost two years after a previous motion, in October 2019, saw the council declare a climate emergency and set the 2050 target date.

The motion reads: “In light of increased evidence of the impact of global warming and the urgency required in order to address this, East Sussex County Council resolves to revise that target to 2030 and will with immediate effect establish a plan of actions in order to deliver on this target.

“In addition, council resolves to incorporate an environmental assessment on every Council report.”

While the final say will come down to a full council vote, Cllr Bennett is set to decide what the council’s official position on the motion will be.

However, in a report , officers are recommending that the motion not be supported. Officers say this is due to a combination of factors, including uncertainty around what forms carbon reduction technologies will take in future and what government policy (and funding) on climate change will look like in coming years.

A council spokesman said:

“Given the major financial and technological hurdles outlined above, there is no realistic prospect of achieving a target date of 2030.

“Attempting to accelerate the timescale previously agreed by the council at a time when our Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) shows a significant deficit would have major consequences, including the likely closure of some services.

“Whilst the notice of motion sets out a welcome ambition, it is important that the targets set by the council are evidence-based and challenging but also realistically achievable and therefore meaningful in terms creating public expectation, tracking our progress and being held to account in terms of its delivery.”

No matter what position Cllr Bennett agrees, the motion will see debate at a full council meeting, most likely at a meeting scheduled for July 23.

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