The Climate Emergency Motion Councillors’ Comments
From item 22/10: Climate Emergency Working Party motion
Minutes of Parish Council Meeting held on Wed 26th January 2022 at 7.30 pm in the Orpen Memorial Hall
To note the statement from the Chair of the Working Party and approve the proposal for the endorsement of a motion:
“that this council believes that a Climate Emergency should be declared and that the Parish Council will take action either through its own work or in conjunction with others in the parish to cut carbon emissions, mitigate the effects of global warming and improve natural environments all in the wider interests of future generations”
Cllr Bob Tyrrell
Proposed and supported the motion, reading parts of the full statement to the council, in addition to it having been circulated in advance.
Cllr Brian Butcher
Written statement:
I am not certain I believe all the predictions made with regards to climate change or their impact as such predictions are generally made on untested models.
However, I do believe that our climate is changing as a result of man’s activities over the last 200 years and is likely to increase unless steps are taken.
What West Bergholt Parish Council can do to influence climate change at best is modest, but I do believe the parish Council should seek to lead carbon reducing activities across the village so as to have the greatest potential impact.
So, to enable the Parish Council through its working group to take such a lead I support tonight’s motion and its need to engage with the community.
Cllr David Short
Written statement:
The Council is well aware of my views on climate change through various papers which I have circulated in the past.
My reason for trying to raise the awareness of the council to the facts surrounding the subject of climate change is that I don’t wish to see the council signing the village up to various courses of action which can never be fulfilled. They can never be fulfilled because for one thing, the subject is in fact only a hypothesis and has little basis in science by way of proof and for another the proposers of this motion are insufficiently informed about the subject and are just following the crowd without question and are therefore not qualified to commit the village to a policy which cannot be fulfilled.
It is not the fact that the climate is changing that is in question. What is in question, are the wildly exaggerated supposed effects of climate change which, when examined, bear little resemblance to reality and are at worst, fraudulent.
What depresses me most about the so-called climate emergency is that young children are crying themselves to sleep at night fearing that the world is about to be consumed by fire, or that they will be drowned by rising seas and that they have no future in life beyond the next twelve years. To me this constitutes child abuse and an abuse of human rights and those allowing themselves and the village to sign up to this hysterical and virtue signaling so-called emergency should think again and I move that this proposal be abandoned.
Cllr Harry Stone
Verbal comment:
West Bergholt should follow the example of the 75% of other councils that have declared a climate emergency. It is the job of councils to take the lead on this and to show the rest of the village how we lead by example.
Cllr Joel Fayers
Verbal comment:
Actions that we can take on a local level, even small improvements, can have an impact.
Cllr Andrew Savage
Verbal comment:
Happy to support this motion if West Bergholt Parish Council are sensible about what they can achieve. As chairman of the Friends of Hillhouse Wood I know the impact that biodiversity and even litter can have. I believe passing this motion will benefit the village.
Cllr Jenny Church
Verbal comment:
Think the wording of “Climate Emergency” is a bit strong and would rather the Council concentrate on sorting the dog poo and litter problems.
Cllr Chris Stevenson
Verbal comment:
I support this motion. Carbon reduction has great benefits. I have a particular interest in the local environment, especially biodiversity, think that by creating a better range of carbon reduction proposals to help the environment would be reason to support the motion on that alone.
Cllr John Gili-Ross
Verbal comment:
No further comment to add to what has already been said in support of the motion.