County Council scraps its climate change strategy, references to the global issue and net zero no longer part of aims

County Hall in Matlock, headquarters of Derbyshire County Council. Image from Eddie Bisknell.

By Eddie Bisknell – Local Democracy Reporting Service

The Reform-run Derbyshire County Council will no longer have a climate change strategy, with all references to the global issue and net zero scrapped from its aims.

A report discussed at a county council meeting held on Wednesday 26th February details that the authority has mandatory environmental duties and must have a policy to showcase that.

The council had a climate change strategy, with the last one running from 2021-2025, with the title of “achieving net zero”.

However, the renewal and replacement of this climate change strategy, under the Reform UK administration, is being renamed the “environmental sustainability policy”, “to reflect the council’s direction and priorities in this regard”.

The broad themes of the new policy, which is still being drawn up, have been detailed by Cllr Carol Wood, Reform’s cabinet member for net zero and the environment.

There are eight “themes” and 12 extended “principles” in the new environmental sustainability policy, and none of them contains a reference to climate change, net zero or carbon emissions.

This was challenged by Cllr Gez Kinsella, Green Party, in this week’s meeting, in which he said: “There are aspects of this report which are really positive and really welcome.

“References to the circular economy and recycling are good to see and are fundamental.

“The fundamental issue is that the eight themes are dealing with the symptoms of the issues, not the cause – fossil fuels and climate change.

“I know Reform have a particular view on this but it is important to make my position clear.

“Man-made climate change and fossil fuels are the cause of the issues in Derbyshire.”

One of the themes is to “improve the ways in which people travel around the county”, which Cllr Kinsella said was “unclear”.

He said: “What does this mean? Making it cheaper? Making it more reliable? More buses?”

Cllr Mark Chambers, Reform, chairing the meeting, said Cllr Kinsella had made “valid points”, with no further responses provided.

The eight themes in the new policy are:

1. Conservation and enhancement of Derbyshire’s natural environment and landscapes
2. Efficient use of fuel, energy and water
3. Clean energy generation and use
4. Air quality
5. Circular economy and resource use
6. Extreme and adverse weather resilience
7. Improving the ways in which people travel around the county
8. Strengthening people’s connection with the natural environment

The authority has had two key ongoing aims regarding net zero: one to cut its own carbon emissions to net zero by 2032, and the other to reduce the carbon footprint of its geographic patch – that of Derbyshire itself – to net zero by 2050.

In January, Reform dropped all references to net zero from the county council’s agreement with Derbyshire’s quarrying and mineral products industry – one of the largest producers of carbon emissions.

One of the Reform administration’s first decisions last May was to scrap the committee on climate change, biodiversity and carbon reduction

The council’s new main Council Plan document does not contain any reference to “net zero”, but does make reference to “clean energy”.

However, a supporting appendix does say it aims to “[ensure] the council’s effective contribution to the net zero, nature recovery and heritage priorities of the East Midlands Combined County Authority”.

Last May, Cllr Alan Graves, council leader, had said: “Net zero is not a priority for us, in fact it is the opposite of a priority for us.

“The whole net zero agenda is in fact costing every single person in our country a lot of money to heat their houses to use their gas, use their electricity, and what we want to do is find ways where that cost isn’t handed over to everybody.

“As a country we are very efficient at cutting carbon – why do we need to burden the people out there with more?

“We have a different view and you will just have to get used to that.”