For the Executive to consider their response to the Notice of Motion on the Environment submitted by Cllr Macgregor to the Full Council 20th September 2021
Background
Council Notes that –
- This Council has declared its commitment to address the Climate and Ecological Emergencies via Declarations made in April 2019 and Sept 2020 respectively. We are also signatories to the Devon Carbon Declaration and being recognised as a leader in District Council responses to the twin emergencies.
- The Council has fulfilled the initial commitments we made at Full Council in Sept 2019 including employing a Climate Change Officer. We have completed our 2018/19 Carbon Footprint and have identified and funded projects to address the Council’s top 15 emissions sites.
- The Council has made substantial progress in other areas including through our Local Plan, installing EV charging, promoting district heating schemes, energy efficiency and renewable energy retrofitting of the District’s housing stock, created SANGS at Dawlish and Matford, planted more than 3000 trees and assisted with many other projects to reduce our District’s carbon footprint, as well as protect and improve biodiversity and habitats.
- Central Government, however, has failed to provide the legislative framework to match Teignbridge District’s Council ambition.
- The Government has delayed for the 3rd time the progress of the Environment Bill through Parliament. The Bill; created to enshrine in law environmental principles which will embed environmental values at the heart of government policy making and replacing EU regulations covering areas such as pollution, wildlife protection, air quality, biodiversity and waste reduction. However, the Bill will now not be in place until Autumn 2021, at the earliest.
- Despite these positive plans, the Government has already taken a backwards direction by reversing the EU ban on the use of neonicotinoids, undermining previous commitments in 2018 that the UK would keep the ban in place post Brexit. Research shows that neonicotinoids are highly toxic chemicals that can persist in the wider ecosystem for some time, potentially to be absorbed by wildflowers that pollinators then visit. In 2018 the government agreed with this research, and there is no new research to dispute this finding.
- Last year the Committee on Climate Change, the Government’s own independent advisory body stated that steps taken so far by Government “do not deliver adequate progress in addressing even the unavoidable impacts of climate change, let alone the risks of expected levels of global warming of around 3°C above pre-industrial levels”, and that “the delivery of effective new policies must accelerate dramatically if we’re to seize this chance. Progress is generally off-track in most sectors, with only four out of 21 of the indicators on track in 2019.”
- The United Nations has just produced the results of the largest public opinion poll in history, which demonstrates that 2/3rds of people agree that climate change is a "global emergency". 1.2 million people have been questioned in 50 countries. 81% of UK residents questioned also agreed there was a Climate Emergency.
Council believes that –
- As a District, as a Nation, as a World, we are currently fighting two potentially cataclysmic emergencies. The Government must urgently make and enact a serious Plan to address the climate and ecological emergencies.
- The Government must urgently listen to the suggestions of environmental organisations in the UK, in order to tighten the proposed regulations in the Environment Bill, including to;
- Further protect food import standards
- Set a target date for the removal of deforestation from supply chains
- Set air pollution targets in line with WHO guidelines
- Introduce legally binding targets on loss of nature
- Introduce legally binding targets on plastics reduction
- Make a legal commitment to protect 30% of UK land for nature
- Reintroduce the ban on neonicotinoids.
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- Teignbridge District Council is committed to do all it can to address the climate and ecological emergencies but needs government to provide the legislative framework via the Environment Bill, to fulfil its ambitions for our District.
Motion
The Leader and relevant Executive Members will write to our MP’s and Sec of State for the Environment urging them to ensure that the time delay to the Environment Bill is used to ensure the following improvements are incorporated,
- Further protect food import standards
- Set a target date for the removal of deforestation from supply chains
- Set air pollution targets in line with WHO guidelines
- Introduce legally binding targets on loss of nature
- Introduce legally binding targets on plastics reduction
- Make a legal commitment to protect 30% of UK land for nature
- Reintroduce the ban on neonicotinoids.
Minutes:
The Executive considered the Notice of Motion on the Environment submitted by Cllr Macgregor to the Full Council 20th September 2021. The Executive Member for Climate Change, Coastal Protection and Flooding comment that as the Environment Bill was near the end of its passage through Parliament this Notice of Motion would be withdrawn.
RESOLVED that this Notice of Motion be withdrawn.
The vote was unanimous.