Lib Dems call on Councils to cut carbon emissions by 10% in 2010

11.51.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Thu 8th Oct 2009

Essex Liberal Democrat County Councillors are asking Essex County Council and Saffron Walden Town Council to join the 10:10 Campaign - which seeks to deliver 10% cuts in carbon dioxide emissions during 2010.

Speaking about the proposal, which will be discussed at next week's Full Council meeting, Councillor Tom Smith-Hughes, Liberal Democrat Group Leader, said "Vitally important talks about climate change are taking place in Copenhagen in December. Urgent cuts in global emissions are essential, but this will only be possible by decisions made in local areas and by individuals.

"An early commitment to the 10:10 Campaign by many local authorities and others has the potential to influence those talks. We are calling on Essex County Council to join the Campaign and be part of the solution, reaping the rewards of low carbon local government, and demonstrating leadership at this critical time."

"Local authorities, as providers of services for their populations and as major employers, are well placed to demonstrate leadership in the vital but challenging task of tackling climate change, and making urgent cuts in carbon dioxide emissions a reality."

The Full County Council meeting will take place at 10.00 a.m. Tuesday, 13th October at County Hall, Chelmsford.

Cllr Mike Hibbs has proposed that Saffron Walden Town Council should also sign up to the 10:10 campaign. A motion to do so will be discussed at the next full Town Council meeting on Wednesday, 14th October.

Saffron Walden Town Council - which was controlled by the Liberal Democrats at the time - signed up to the Nottingham Declaration on Climate Change at the end of Cllr Hilary Shibata's Mayoral year, during which she campaigned for a more sustainable town. However, following local elections in 2007 the Working Group set up to look at ways in which the Council might cut its carbon footprint did not meet. In an effort to re-establish the Council's commitment to promoting environmentally friendly policies, Cllr Mike Hibbs has called on the local Conservatives (who currently control the Town Council) to honour their leader's pledges at the recent Conservative Party Conference and to support the 10:10 agreement.

Related Link:

More about the 10:10 campaign