Today, Suffolk County Council formally withdrew its climate emergency declaration, which had been adopted under the previous Conservative administration in 2019.
Conservative councillors secured significant changes to the motion, which, in its revised form, was seconded by Conservative Councillor Harry Richardson, to ensure it fully recognised the facts of climate change and the need for Suffolk to adapt to and mitigate its effects.
Councillor Harry Richardson, Shadow Spokesperson for Public Health & Environment, said:
“We are proud of the previous Conservative administration’s record on climate change and energy efficiency. Our approach to decarbonisation was always on a spend-to-save basis, and it yielded strong results, reducing the council’s annual energy bills by £4.8 million.
“However, today we were presented with a choice: vote against a motion knowing we would lose or seek to improve it. We chose to try to improve Reform’s proposals and, as a direct result, the amended motion ensures the council will recognise the facts of climate change and the threat it poses to lives and livelihoods in Suffolk. In my own division, we’ve seen the A143 melt in the heat. We are now experiencing our third heatwave of the year, a hosepipe ban has been imposed, field fires are once again becoming commonplace, and farmers are rightly concerned about the impact on this year’s harvest.
“The effects of climate change are real, and we must rise to the challenge. I’m pleased we got the majority of Reform UK members today to at least recognise the reality of climate change, and while many will regard the impacts we’re currently seeing as an emergency, this motion and council policy would have been far worse without our intervention.”
The Conservative Group will continue to support practical measures that protect Suffolk’s environment and will closely scrutinise the Reform administration’s decisions on climate and environmental policy.
