A Reform council has decided to rescind its climate and biodiversity emergency declaration, saying it was an example of “virtue-signalling.”
In May 2019, Wakefield Council unanimously passed a motion to become carbon neutral by 2030 and help the district achieve this goal by 2038.
But, after Reform swept to an overwhelming majority on the council after May’s local elections, council leader Karl Johnson has decided to scrap the motion – just days before temperatures reach almost 40C in the UK.
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Johnson tabled a motion to axe the climate emergency declaration last week, saying focuses should instead be on energy efficiency and cost of living interventions that “provide practical help to residents”.
He told councillors that too much time was being spent on “virtue signalling and gesture politics” and not enough time was spent on improving residents’ lives, the BBC reports.
Johnson has said the motion was “not about denying climate or the science.”
“With council tax set this year at another 4.99% we need to put our residents first,” he said.
“We’ve got roads, potholes, housing – we could name countless.”
However, opposition councillors have pointed out that he voted for the climate emergency declaration in 2019.
This included Green Party councillor Kate Dodd, who said it was “frankly irresponsible” to suggest the UK and the world is not facing a climate emergency.
She said Johnson’s motion was a “a classic example of gesture politics.”
The motion says that Wakefield council has “limited influence” over national climate policy, but that the council will continue to support current energy efficiency programmes, improvements to green spaces and flood protection.
Dodd pointed out that local councils already have legal duties that enabled them to influence climate action.
Meanwhile, Labour councillor Mohammed Ayub questioned the financial savings Johnson claims will be made with his motion, arguing that actions of previous councils have had positive impacts such as reducing costs and emissions, improving energy efficiency, and reducing fuel consumption.
This week, a rare red health warning has been issued for Wednesday and Thursday across much of the south of the UK as temperatures are expected to reach as high as 39C.
A red warning is the most severe level of alert which indicates dangerous weather is expected with a high likelihood of risk to life.
It could also lead to failures of critical national infrastructure, such as power outages or roads and rail lines being closed.
The Met Office has advised people to avoid travelling where possible and to follow the advice of the emergency services and local authorities.
The first ever red heat warning was issued in July 2022, although the extreme heat warning system was only introduced in 2021.
A separate amber alert is was in effect for parts of England and Wales from Tuesday.