Yesterday, at the Portsmouth City Council full council meeting, a unanimous decision was made to back the motion put forward by Labour to declare a climate emergency.
The Labour Group’s proactive approach to climate change follows a 2018 UN report which warned countries have until 2030 to take positive action and limit climate “catastrophe”.
In agreeing the motion, Portsmouth joins national leaders in climate change such as the borough of Lewisham and Bristol City. The motion, developed with the community and local campaigners, seeks to plug the gap left by the government’s inaction on climate change and sets out that the local authority is committed to combatting the most pressing issue facing society.
As a coastal community, Portsmouth is likely to be disproportionally affected by climate change. Particularly, the threat rising sea levels which could have dire consequences for places such as Portsea Island.
Portsmouth can now be counted amongst the most ambitious cities with regard to climate change.
With the council unanimously backing a commitment to be carbon neutral by 2030 in an effort to avoid catastrophic climate breakdown, it sets the precedent for a city serious about climate change.
Following his Group’s success at the council meeting, Stephen Morgan MP said:
“I am glad that this motion, tabled by Labour, received cross-party unanimous support from other councillors and that Portsmouth will join others in leading the charge against climate change.
Big problems require brave measures, the commitment of the city to become carbon neutral by 2030 shows that we as a city are serious about addressing climate change.
The passing of the motion could not have come at a more pressing time, yesterday we learned of correspondence between the Leader of the Council and the government that exposed a history of inaction over air pollution.
If we are to make the progress we need, we need to be relentless in our efforts, waiting for the government to take action is simply not enough”.
