Agenda item

Councillor Sharon Galliford to move that

“this Council

(i)           believes that:

a.    all governments (national, regional and local) have a duty to limit the negative impacts of Climate and Ecological Breakdown; local authorities should not wait for their national governments to change their policies;

b.    all tiers of local government are well placed to lead the way in reducing carbon emissions and tackling the ecological emergency as they have closer links with their residents;

c.    having already declared a Climate Emergency in 2019 and committed to carbon neutrality by 2030, there is also an ecological emergency;

d.    the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill needs the full support of local government to highlight the urgency of the twin climate and ecological emergencies;

(ii)          declares an ‘Ecological Emergency’ to accompany the Climate Emergency it has already declared; 

(iii)         commits to:

a.    leading by example and promoting the good work it is currently undertaking;

b.    working with partners and volunteers locally and regionally to drive coordinated leadership and collaborative action to aid the recovery of nature and natural environments and identify areas for greater biodiversity;

c.    ensuring irreplaceable habitats are protected, the biodiversity mitigation hierarchy is followed and that net biodiversity gain is fully implemented;

d.    reviewing and implementing a borough-wide Tree Strategy;

e.    continue to review Surrey Heath’s Green Infrastructure Strategy;

f.     demanding that new developments contribute to increasing biodiversity and ecological improvement

g.    register its support for the CEE Bill with the CEE Bill Alliance;

h.    write an open letter, to be shared through local media; and

i.      write to the Member of Parliament for Surrey Heath to urge him to sign up to support the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill.”

It was moved by Councillor Sharon Galliford and seconded by Councillor Graham Alleway that

“this Council

(i)           believes that:

a.    all governments (national, regional and local) have a duty to limit the negative impacts of Climate and Ecological Breakdown; local authorities should not wait for their national governments to change their policies;

b.    all tiers of local government are well placed to lead the way in reducing carbon emissions and tackling the ecological emergency as they have closer links with their residents;

c.    having already declared a Climate Emergency in 2019 and committed to carbon neutrality by 2030, there is also an ecological emergency;

d.    the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill needs the full support of local government to highlight the urgency of the twin climate and ecological emergencies;

(ii)          declares an ‘Ecological Emergency’ to accompany the Climate Emergency it has already declared; 

(iii)         commits to:

a.    leading by example and promoting the good work it is currently undertaking;

b.    working with partners and volunteers locally and regionally to drive coordinated leadership and collaborative action to aid the recovery of nature and natural environments and identify areas for greater biodiversity;

c.    ensuring irreplaceable habitats are protected, the biodiversity mitigation hierarchy is followed and that net biodiversity gain is fully implemented;

d.    reviewing and implementing a borough-wide Tree Strategy;

e.    continue to review Surrey Heath’s Green Infrastructure Strategy;

f.     demanding that new developments contribute to increasing biodiversity and ecological improvement

g.    register its support for the CEE Bill with the CEE Bill Alliance;

h.    write an open letter, to be shared through local media; and

i.      write to the Member of Parliament for Surrey Heath to urge him to sign up to support the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill.”

Having expressed concerns about the duplication of work already being undertaken by the Climate Change Working Group, it was moved by Councillor Edward Hawkins and seconded by Councillor Colin Dougan that the motion be referred to the Climate Change Working Group for discussion. The amendment was put to the vote and lost.

The Council discussed the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill and heard differing views on the merits of the Bill. It was moved by Councillor Colin Dougan and seconded by Councillor Edward Hawkins that the motion be amended by removing (i) d, (iii) g and (iii) i. The amendment was put to the vote and lost. It was subsequently moved by Councillor Alan McClafferty and seconded by Councillor Adrian Page that the motion be amended by removing (iii) g. The amendment was put to the vote and lost.

RESOLVED that this Council

(i)        believes that:

a.  all governments (national, regional and local) have a duty to limit the negative impacts of Climate and Ecological Breakdown; local authorities should not wait for their national governments to change their policies;

b.  all tiers of local government are well placed to lead the way in reducing carbon emissions and tackling the ecological emergency as they have closer links with their residents;

c.  having already declared a Climate Emergency in 2019 and committed to carbon neutrality by 2030, there is also an ecological emergency;

d.  the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill needs the full support of local government to highlight the urgency of the twin climate and ecological emergencies;

(ii)      declares an ‘Ecological Emergency’ to accompany the Climate Emergency it has already declared; 

(iii)     commits to:

a.  leading by example and promoting the good work it is currently undertaking;

b.  working with partners and volunteers locally and regionally to drive coordinated leadership and collaborative action to aid the recovery of nature and natural environments and identify areas for greater biodiversity;

c.  ensuring irreplaceable habitats are protected, the biodiversity mitigation hierarchy is followed and that net biodiversity gain is fully implemented;

d.  reviewing and implementing a borough-wide Tree Strategy;

e.  continue to review Surrey Heath’s Green Infrastructure Strategy;

f.   demanding that new developments contribute to increasing biodiversity and ecological improvement

g.  register its support for the CEE Bill with the CEE Bill Alliance;

h.  write an open letter, to be shared through local media; and

i.    write to the Member of Parliament for Surrey Heath to urge him to sign up to support the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill.”

Note 1: In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 17.4, a recorded vote was taken on the substantive motion.

The following Members voted in favour of the motion:

Councillors Graham Alleway, Peter Barnett, Rodney Bates, Richard Brooks, Sarah Jane Croke, Tim FitzGerald, Sharon Galliford, Mark Gordon, Emma-Jane McGrath, Charlotte Morley, Sashi Mylvaganam, Morgan Rise, John Skipper, Graham Tapper, Pat Tedder, Victoria Wheeler, Helen Whitcroft, Kristian Wrenn.

The following Members voted against the motion:

Councillors Colin Dougan, David Lewis, Alan McClafferty, Adrian Page, Robin Perry, Darryl Ratiram,

The following Members abstained from voting:

Councillors Stuart Black, Shaun Garrett, Edward Hawkins, Valerie White.