Council target is unrealistic

YOUR article in the March 31 edition drew attention to Cyngor Sir Gâr’s target of reaching net zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2030.

It is relevant to note that the Welsh Government’s objective is to achieve a 95% reduction in net carbon dioxide emissions in Wales (compared to 1990) by 2050, not 2030.

Council taxes in Sir Gâr have risen by well above the rate of inflation each year.

As a council tax payer it is reasonable to expect the council to spend the money prudently, ensuring it is only spent on essential services and that the best value is always obtained.

What justification, therefore, is there for the council to adopt an arbitrary target of achieving net zero carbon emissions in its own activities by 2030, rather than a more realistic 2050? By its own admission, additional tax payers’ money will need to be spent to achieve this very ambitious earlier target. It should be transparent with council tax payers by publishing the estimated additional cost of trying to achieve this 2030 objective rather than the Welsh Government’s 2050 target. What justification can there be for this other than political “virtue signalling”.

In taking action to reduce CO2 emissions, we should bear in mind that it is a global problem, and the UK is directly responsible for only 1% of the worldwide CO2 emissions. If UK emissions were reduced to zero tomorrow it would have negligible impact on the global CO2 emissions/ climate change.

While I support the aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions at the same pace as other developed world economies, I am not supportive of incurring additional cost to accelerate the reduction in carbon emissions just to be able to claim political credit for doing so.

It is time for Cyngor Sir Gâr to come clean with its electorate and publish the additional cost of pursuing its 2030 net zero carbon target compared to the overall Wales objective of a 95% reduction by 2050.

HL Michael Caerfyrddin