Climate emergency declared

Councillors have declared a climate emergency in the borough following a motion at Full Council.

The motion, put forward by lead member for sustainability, waste services and economic development at the council, Cllr Gerry Clark, states that the Royal Borough will:

Continue with the Royal Borough’s ambitious targets to reduce energy consumption at the council by a further 10% on top of the 21% reduction already achieved.
Lobby government to provide the council with additional powers and resources so that the borough can meet the national commitment of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Establish a cross-party working group to undertake an in-depth review of the council’s current carbon footprint and agree a strategy to enable the Royal Borough to become carbon neutral by 2050.

Cllr Gerry Clark, lead member for sustainability, waste services and economic development said:

“We know how important protecting our planet is to residents, so it's right we take steps to ensure that the council and the wider borough does all it can to reduce carbon emissions.

“This is a subject which has unified the council and we will continue to build on our previous commitments and successes to ensure we achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.”

A draft strategy will be presented to Full Council and then put to public consultation within the next 12 months.