Reform moves to ditch council's 2050 net-zero goal

Leaders at a county council are seeking to abandon a commitment to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

East Sussex County Council's (ESCC) cabinet has invited the authority's scrutiny committees to consider the Reform UK administration's draft climate strategy.

The policy "resets" existing climate commitments and "prioritises severe weather preparedness" over cutting emissions.

ESCC leader Andy Woolley said a change of priority was needed as the cost pressures of statutory services had "intensified", but the Green Party called it a "dereliction of duty".

Woolley told the cabinet meeting he "could have taken this straight to council for a vote in a few weeks time" but instead wanted to hear the committee's views.

Officers wrote that the proposed strategy would represent "a substantive change" of the council's position if adopted, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

According to a report for councillors, the new approach was "based on statutory compliance, measurable energy efficiency, affordable emissions reduction and climate resilience".

The council would only continue with emissions reductions "where affordable, cost-effective, externally funded, legally required or operationally justified" under the proposed policy.

Kathryn Field, leader of the council's Liberal Democrats, said the authority should "be working incredibly hard to reduce" carbon emissions, which would in turn lead to resilience.

Green Party councillor Christina Coleman said: "The future is not looking good, so to renounce the idea of this not being an emergency and to pretend it is not happening is a dereliction of duty."

The council adopted the net-zero target in 2019, when councillors voted in favour of a motion declaring a climate emergency.

Conservative group leader Paul Redstone said on Tuesday that net-zero was an idea he would "support if it was possible" but that it "isn't affordable".

Experts have warned that climate change means the UK is experiencing more frequent intense winter storms followed by heatwaves and droughts in summers.

The consensus among scientists is that human activities are causing climate change.

The council's report stated that the proposed change was "not a denial of climate change or a conclusion that global emissions reduction is unnecessary", and instead was "one of priority, proportionality and delivery".

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