Climate Change

On the agenda for 21st January was a Notice of Motion from Democratic Independent councillor and Green Party member Martin Ford. The motion asked the Council to confirm that it will hold true to the commitments it has previously made on tackling climate change, and that it will improve governance arrangements to ensure targets are met or bettered in future.

   

A few years ago, Aberdeenshire Council made a range of bold commitments to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, the main gas that is causing climate change. In particular, in 2007, the Council unanimously agreed to a report from its Scrutiny & Audit Committee that recommended a strategy to progressively reduce emissions of greenhouse gases directly resulting from the Council's own operations.

  

Said Cllr Ford: "When the Council agreed to make drastic cuts in carbon dioxide emissions it was made very clear to councillors that this would be difficult and require the Council to operate and behave differently in future. Yet councillors, rightly, signed up and promised to deliver.

   

"In practice, the Council's efforts to reduce its carbon footprint have had mixed results. [Note 1]

   

"In effect, my motion asks councillors to do better at keeping to the commitments they have already made."

  

Doubts about the sincerity of councillors' pledges on climate change increased last week when members of the Policy & Resources Committee, with one exception, refused to sign up to the 10:10 campaign. [Note 2]

  

Said Cllr Ford: "After last week's regrettable failure of councillors to support the 10:10 campaign, how councillors vote on my motion this week now has an added significance.

 

"In a world in which more and more organisations and individuals are increasing their efforts to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, it would be a total failure of leadership if Aberdeenshire Council decided to pull back from existing undertakings."

However. Aberdeenshire Provost Bill Howatson ruled the motion not competent and therefore denied the Council to opportunity to make its position clear.

Notes:
   
(1)  http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1529928 
 
(2)  http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1562930