Reform-run council scraps climate change and net zero in new strategy

EXISTING CLIMATE CHANGE POLICY IS RENAMED ‘ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY’

- By EDDIE BISKNELL Local democracy reporter

THE Reform-run Derbyshire County Council will no longer have a climate change strategy, with all references to the global issue and net zero scrapped from its aims.

A report discussed at a county council meeting on Wednesday, details that the authority has mandatory environmental duties and must have a policy to showcase that.

The council had a climate change strategy, with the last one running from 2021-2025, with the title of “achieving net zero”.

However, the renewal and replacement of this climate change strategy, under the Reform UK administration, is being renamed the “environmental sustainability policy”, “to reflect the council's direction and priorities in this regard’

The broad themes of the new policy, which is still being drawn up, have been detailed by Cllr Carol Wood, Reform’s cabinet member for net zero and the environment.

There are eight “themes” and 12 extended “principles” in the new environmental sustainability policy, and none of them contains a reference to climate change, net zero or carbon emissions.