Council becomes latest to scrap net-zero policies

Thurrock Council has voted to scrap a climate emergency declaration.

The decision by the Reform UK-led authority overturns a commitment to net-zero policies made in 2019, and follows a similar move by Essex County Council.

At a meeting on Wednesday, George Monk, a Reform councillor, insisted it was not about rejecting climate change.

He said he wanted Thurrock to take a "responsible" and "realistic" approach to a policy that had an "unachievable target".

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

"For nearly seven years, we have not moved any closer to achieving the target," Monk added.

"Previous administrations ignored it, watered it down and kicked the can down the road.

"The 2019 motion set a self-imposed target that brought the deadline forward by 20 years. With four years to go, that target is simply unachievable."

He said the authority, which has a large Reform majority, already had statutory duties that "remain unaffected" by the declaration of a climate emergency.

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Tom Kelly, also a Reform councillor, seconded the motion, saying the public had been "sold net zero on optimistic numbers".

Councillors opposing the move included Labour member Aaron Green, who insisted on taking a "more pragmatic approach".

Highlighting a report considered by a council committee in January, he said that approach "prioritised reducing carbon emissions, improving energy efficiency and helping to reduce costs for residents".

But the motion was carried, formally bringing Thurrock's seven-year-old climate emergency declaration to an end.

In May, Essex County Council leader Peter Harris criticised what he called "net stupid zero policies" and declared they would be scrapped.

He said it was "nuts" to think the local authority could help to stop climate change, adding: "It's been happening for millions of years."

Scientists have provided evidence that the planet is not only warming up, but that carbon dioxide levels have shot up since the industrial revolution as a result of man-made emissions.

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