Councils around the Midlands are declaring a Climate Emergency. We believe that any declaration of a climate emergency needs to include divestment of the local government pension fund (WMPF) from fossil fuels which are a huge contributor to the climate crisis.
We are delighted to hear that Coventry are due to debate a climate motion on Tuesday 18th June, but the current motion to be debated does not have teeth. We therefore urge all our supporters to contact your local councillor and ask for the motion to be improved.
Here is a suggested email which you can use to get in touch with your local councillor. If you live in Coventry, you can use the council website to find your councillor.
I understand a motion is due to be put to council on Tuesday 18th June regarding climate change. I implore you to include the following clauses in that motion.
Climate change will have a significant impact on our city and duly I have attached a
summary of the recent IPCC report for our city.
A number of low-cost actions that the council can take to mitigate the impacts of climate change. Friends of the Earth and Fossil Free Coventry have outlined 33 actions local authorities can take on climate change at the following link: https://policy.friendsoftheearth.uk/insight/33-actions-local-authorities-can-take-climate-change
“Henceforth this council:
- Declares a ‘Climate Emergency’ that requires urgent action.
Commits to making the Council’s activities net-zero carbon by 2030 or earlier. - Will ensure the council owned waste incinerator does not burn any recyclable waste beyond 2020 and the city improves recycling rates recycling rates to the national average in line with the waste hierarchy
- Will ensure that all strategic decisions, budgets and approaches to planning decisions are in line with a shift to zero carbon by 2030.
- Will support and work with all other relevant agencies towards making the entire area zero carbon by 2030;
- Will ensure that political and chief officer leadership teams embed this work in all areas and take responsibility for reducing, as rapidly as possible, the carbon emissions resulting from the Council’s activities, ensuring that any recommendations are fully costed and that the Executive and Scrutiny functions review council activities taking account of lifecycle emissions.
- Will ensure Council Scrutiny Panels consider the impact of climate change and the environment when reviewing Council policies and strategies;
- Will work with, influence and inspire partners across the city and region to help deliver this goal through all relevant strategies, plans and shared resources by developing a series of meetings, events and partner workshops;
- Will request that the Council and partners take steps to proactively include young people and people of diverse and underrepresented backgrounds in the process, ensuring that they
- Will consider the latest climate science and expert advice on solutions and to consider systematically the climate change impact of each area of the Council’s activities
- Will set up a Climate Change Partnership group, involving Councillors, residents, young citizens, climate science, experts, businesses and other relevant parties. Over the following 12 months, the Group will consider strategies and actions being developed by the Council and other partner organisations and develop a strategy in line with a target of net zero emissions by 2030. It will also recommend ways to maximise local benefits of these actions in other sectors such as employment, health, agriculture, transport and the economy
- Will divest investments and assets from companies engaged in fossil fuel extraction and electricity generation from fossil sources by 2021 or at the earliest opportunity as contracts expire and will lobby other councils in the WMCA and wider region to do likewise.
- Will ensure that all reports in preparation for the 2020/21 budget cycle and investment strategy will take into account the actions the council will take to address this emergency;
- Will call on the UK Government to provide the powers, resources and help with funding to make this possible, and ask local MPs to do likewise;
- Will proactively use local planning powers to minimise future emissions and ensure this is properly resourced
- Will ensure that the principle of a just transition is maintained in all decisions, ensuring decarbonisation does not lead to significant rises in poverty or disproportionally impact minority communities.”
Divest West Midlands 