Backing for new biodiversity move
MEMBERS of Derbyshire Dales District Council have voted to put their weight behind a new Parliamentary Bill aimed at offering greater protection to the climate and the natural world.
The Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill, which is due for parliamentary consideration this spring, will set the Government on course to restore biodiversity and reduce the nation’s carbon footprint.
During a virtual debate Councillor David Chapman, who presented the motion, said he considered the Bill to be the most significant piece of legislation since the 2008 Climate Act.
The members agreed that the authority should lobby the Derbyshire Dales MP, Sarah Dines, to give the Bill her support when it returns to the
House of Commons.
Derbyshire Dales District Council members have already voted to make the authority carbon-neutral by 2030 and declared a climate emergency. Since then, bosses have set up a climate change action plan which sets out a string of schemes to help achieve its goal, including appointing a climate change officer, developing plans for the its first solar farm and commissioning is grounds maintenance staff to increase biodiversity in authoritymanaged spaces.
Another scheme will see the insulation of hard-to-heat rented homes, both council and privately owned.
The authority’s new green focus has been welcomed by the Derbyshire Dales Climate Hub, a relatively new group which alerted the council to the Bill and suggested a motion of support.
However, the group says that, while district council intervention is important, the nation’s leaders have to stick to their promise to deliver countrywide support and worthwhile policies.
A spokesman said: “The magnitude of reducing millions of tonnes of CO2 across the Derbyshire Dales year on year is a task well beyond the capacity of the district council as a sole actor.
“While the community and commerce will clearly wish to play their part, some of the heavy lifting in policy and funding terms must be accepted by central Government.
“The council is now committed to support the bill and in so doing will use its utmost influence to encourage the constituency MP, Sarah Dines, to take this same message to central Government.
“If the Bill is enshrined in law, it will provide the powers and resources necessary to make the net-zero carbon target and nature’s recovery possible.
“With Government backing we can all work together to take concerted action towards far-reaching cultural, technological and environmental change.
“Without this change, we will be heading towards a tipping-point with unknown consequences for present and future generations.”