Climate group saddened as council stops support

The chairman of the Essex Climate Action Commission said the group was "saddened" its work would probably pause after Essex County Council severed its support.

Prof Jules Pretty said the staff and administrative support from Essex County Council, to deliver projects, was going to be removed.

He said while the commission would not close, the activities undertaken would have to be cut back substantially.

A spokesperson for Essex County Council, which has been run by Reform UK since May, said the authority planned to step back from the commission.

But they said the council was committed to continue work across Essex on environmental issues such as water and air quality, local nature recovery and flood resilience.

Pretty, who is also an environment academic at the University of Essex, said the commission's work had been superb and had helped to deliver environmental improvements across the county.

The commission is an independent organisation launched in 2020 by the last Conservative administration of Essex County Council, with cross-party support.

It produced a 100-point action plan to make Essex carbon neutral.

Sixty-four of those actions are in progress or in place - the commission says - including new planning and building regulations that will see more energy efficient homes with lower bills built in Essex.

Laura Mansel-Thomas, a senior partner at building design company Ingleton Wood, is one of the commissioners.

She said "tough targets for carbon and energy reduction" had delivered "low-carbon and resilient school buildings".

Roger Morris, who is Bishop of Colchester and is also a commissioner, added: "This is not just bad news for the environment, it is bad news for Essex."

He warned it "will cost the people of Essex millions of pounds in new investment and jobs".

Labour district councillor Ivan Henderson, based in Harwich, warned it could undermine plans for a clean, green energy investment in the East of England.

Conservative Lee Scott, opposition leader on Essex County Council, said: "We cannot deny climate change.

"It is not an answer to say it has been going on for millions of years. Whatever the causes may or may not be. If we ignore it, what are we doing to our children and our grandchildren?"

Reform Essex County Council leader Peter Harris has promised to end "net stupid zero" policies and claims to have found £3m of savings by addressing this.

Net zero refers to an equal balance between the amount of gases or carbon being produced and the amount we are able to remove from the atmosphere by changing the way we do things, like driving electric rather than fossil-fuel powered vehicles.

Scientists say that while the planet has been hot before, even as far back as 92 million years ago, human activity has accelerated warming rapidly since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution.

Reaching net-zero CO2 emissions is essential to limit global warming, according to the United Nations.

An Essex County Council spokesperson said: "As the council continues to review its priorities, we plan to step back from the Essex Climate Action Commission from the end of July.

"The council is committed to continuing work across Essex on environmental issues such as water and air quality, local nature recovery and flood resilience."

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