Lib Dem Victory as Worcestershire Climate Change Emergency Declared

Worcestershire County Council's new Liberal Democrat group of Councillors have been successful in their campaign to get Worcestershire County Council to declare a climate emergency.

A previous attempt to declare a climate change emergency was voted down by the Conservatives in 2019 but they have been persuaded to change course and finally declare a climate emergency after it became a significant issue in the 2021 local elections.

The Liberal Democrat motion calls for a new committee to be set up to deliver policies to address the climate emergency and to push for a carbon neutral council. The Lib Dems proposed making the County Council carbon neutral by 2035 but the Conservatives amended the motion to push back the target until 2050.

75% of other councils in the country declared a climate emergency before Worcestershire did this week. The climate emergency declaration should signal that the County Council will do more in the future to protect the environment.

Cllr Dan Boatright, Liberal Democrat County Councillor for Pershore Division, and proposer of the motion commented that:

"As a long-term climate change campaigner I am so proud to have proposed this motion today. The climate change emergency motion at the County Council will ensure that we will have real focus in tackling the change we will see in the coming years."

"It is good that Worcestershire has finally caught up with the majority of other councils in the country and backed the long-standing Liberal Democrat campaign to declare a climate emergency"

"But I am disappointed that the Conservatives amended the motion to push back the target to be carbon neutral by 2050 instead of the 2035 date that we proposed. I will continue to be an advocate for an earlier date so that we can truly take the climate change emergency seriously and ensure our economic and environmental security for generations to come."