Two councils that have been recognised for their work to cut emissions but are now under the control of Reform UK are expected to scrap climate pledges this week.
Durham county council’s deputy leader, the former GB News presenter Darren Grimes, has proposed a motion to rescind a 2019 declaration of a climate emergency, in what it is believed would be a UK first.
West Northamptonshire council, meanwhile, looks set to become the first Reform-led authority to scrap net zero targets.
The energy secretary, Ed Miliband, warned MPs about the climate crisis on Monday, saying he would explicitly call out politicians who rejected net zero policies for betraying future generations in an unprecedented “state of the climate” address to parliament.
In what is planned to be an annual event, the energy security and net zero secretary will set out the findings of a new Met Office-led report that says the UK is already facing extreme weather and its effects.
Durham picked up a national award for best carbon reduction in December in recognition of its work over 15 years to tackle the climate crisis. Mark Wilkes, Durham’s climate lead under the previous Liberal Democrat administration, said the Reform motion was both “morally reprehensible” and “economically illiterate”. He said there would be a cross-party challenge when it went before the Reform-majority council chamber on Wednesday.
“Over the last few years, we have secured millions of pounds of external funding and have reduced council costs through our climate emergency plans and invest to save projects,” he said. “We took Durham county council to the best in the region at tackling climate related issues and Reform are now doing their best to reverse the positive work we have been doing.”
More than 300 councils across the UK have declared climate emergencies since 2018. It is not clear if Durham’s climate emergency response plan, which includes a target of becoming a net zero council by 2030, will be abandoned, or if the motion solely relates to the declaration. The council has been contacted for comment.
Last week West Northamptonshire council announced plans to ditch targets for the council’s operation to be net zero by 2030, along with a 2045 target for the whole borough, to “prioritise practical, realistic projects”. It comes after extensive work by the previous administration to create a new climate change strategy, which was signed off in March.
The council says the “refocus” will enable it to “focus its limited resources on matters which directly benefit local people and businesses” and is “in recognition of the limited ability of the council to materially affect global warming given the many factors outside of its control”.
According to the Climate Change Committee, UK councils have a direct impact on a third of emissions in their area, largely due to their responsibilities in housing, transport and energy.
Government research also shows that localised climate action brings “better results for both communities and the economy at a lower cost”.
West Northamptonshire’s plans will go before cabinet members on Wednesday for approval. An accompanying report states the council will continue with its sustainability strategy, which “has been shown to have real benefits for residents and businesses and makes an ongoing contribution to the UK’s 2050 net zero target”. The council was recognised for its environmental work in 2023.
The council leader, Mark Arnull, said: “We’re fully committed to creating a more sustainable West Northamptonshire, looking after and improving our environment, and we want to further prioritise our focus on delivering practical, high-impact projects that make a real difference to people’s lives.”
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Kent county council, Reform’s largest, last week announced plans to slash net zero projects as part of cuts identified by its new Department for Local Government Efficiency unit. It said the funds would be “redirected back into vital services”.
Isaac Beevor of Climate Emergency UK, which assesses councils based on their climate progress, said the councils were not prioritising local people, but “demonstrating an obsession with impressing Reform HQ”. He said: “Rescinding a climate emergency or scrapping net zero targets during a heatwave and following the driest spring in 100 years, with farmers struggling to grow crops and vulnerable people forced into A&E as councils issue heatwave alerts, is extreme.”
Last month was England’s hottest ever June, and contributed to record A&E demand.
Mike Kendon at the Met Office said: “Breaking records frequently and seeing these extremes, this is now the norm. We might not notice the change from one year to the next, but if we look back 10 years, or 30 years, we can see some really big changes. We’re moving outside the envelope of what we’ve known in the past.
“The extremes have the greatest impact for our society, if we think about our infrastructure, our public health, and how we function,” he said. “So this is really of profound concern.”
Another Reform councillor, Bert Bingham, who serves as Nottinghamshire county council’s environment lead, on Thursday called human-made global heating a “hoax”. He said statistics were “manipulated” and that “people have been brainwashed over time through the media”.
Speaking at a town hall meeting after Labour opposition members had tabled a motion calling for the Reform-led council to recommit to its 2030 carbon neutral target, Bingham said: “I’ve been involved in award-winning sustainability projects for 25 years, and I’ve never seen such nonsense as the anthropogenic global warming hoax.” The motion did not pass.