Reform council vows to call off climate emergency

The Reform UK administration at Suffolk County Council has said it plans to axe the authority's climate emergency declaration and will review all environmental projects.

The council under Conservative rule declared the emergency in 2019, which meant it would look to reduce its carbon emissions to net zero by 2030.

Leader Michael Hadwen said Reform had "inherited a catalogue of expensive, headline-grabbing environmental schemes" after taking power last month.

Andrew Stringer, leader of the opposition for the Green Party, said the council's net zero policies had actually saved £4m over the last financial year.

In a statement, the council said it would look to formally reverse the declaration of a climate emergency at the next full council meeting on 16 July.

There would also be a council-wide audit of all environmental schemes across the authority to ensure they "demonstrate clear benefits, practical outcomes, or real savings in order to continue".

If they do not, the council says they will be stopped and money reinvested elsewhere.

"Our job is simple - spend Suffolk taxpayers' money wisely and deliver real results for our residents," said Hadwen.

"Suffolk has fantastic landscapes, strong farming roots and outstanding local food. That's our real environment and I want to make sure we look after it properly and improve it where we can."

Stringer said: "We are appalled at the news that Reform UK have decided to reverse the climate emergency and review the council's environmental policies."

He said that without schemes setting the council on a path to net zero, council taxes would have been increased more than they did.

Net zero refers to a state in which the greenhouse gases going into the atmosphere are balanced out by those also removed.

The Climate Change Committee, which advises the UK and devolved governments, says achieving net zero is more cost-effective for the economy than continued reliance on fossil fuels.

Reaching net zero CO2 emissions is also essential to limit global warming, according to the United Nation's climate body.

Richard Rout, leader of the Suffolk Conservative Group, said: "You don't have to call it an 'emergency' to take it seriously but you certainly shouldn't spend your first weeks in office pretending it's less serious than it is.

"By their own test, that a scheme must show clear benefits or real savings, the council's energy efficiency programme, which we refined in January of this year, passes comfortably.

"So what, precisely, are they cutting? The answer appears to be nothing."

The Reform-led councils in Essex and Norfolk have announced similar moves against net zero schemes.

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