Following on from our Climate Emergency Motion being unanimously passed by Shrewsbury Town Council last night alongside a motion for Shropshire Council to do same in May. Here is our Press Release that outlines why we need to go carbon neutral by 2030
Town Council Debate Climate Motion
At the Guildhall on Monday, Shrewsbury Town Council voted to declare a ‘Climate Emergency’ and join with Towns and Cities in the UK and across the world who have done the same.
It is against a backdrop of mass protests that Shrewsbury and Atcham Labour Party had brought this Climate Emergency motion to the Town Council. It requested them to become Carbon Neutral by 2030 and to develop a detailed action plan within 6 months on how they would achieve this.
Shrewsbury recently saw hundreds of people march through the town asking politicians and the media to do more to highlight this serious issue of Climate Change. Two weeks ago, Shrewsbury schoolchildren went on strike, as did an estimated 1.4 million others around the world, demanding that Governments take action to secure their future and the future of their planet.
A Shrewsbury and Atcham Labour Party spokesperson said that they supported the move.
“Youngsters walking out of school to protest about inaction on environmental issues is entirely justified and we feel that the people criticizing them for non – attendance are missing the point. An issue as serious as this has to be put on the public stage, especially when numerous climate change summits presided over by adults have achieved little”.
Adam Shipp is one of a number of increasingly vocal Shrewsbury residents who has been calling for radical change. “As a Father and a grassroots Labour member I am increasingly concerned about the devastating effects of Climate Change on my children’s future. We have to act now, and this is why I am proud that my local Party has called on the Town Council to declare a Climate Emergency. Unfortunately, our government doesn’t seem to be listening and we are being forced into taking positive action at a local level”.
“Scientists already say we are in the midst of an ‘Extinction event’ having lost 60% of our wildlife in the last 50 years. It is estimated that we are now losing species at over 1000 times the natural rate. Shrewsbury has just experienced a serious flooding event but this will become more extreme in the future with increased river levels and and the added threat of wild fires in Shropshire and Mid Wales throughout high Summer. If urgent action isn’t taken, the situation will only get worse, wrecking people’s livelihoods and causing major problems to our infrastructure”.
After the positive outcome of the motion on Monday it is hoped that the issue will now be placed firmly on the national agenda. The local Labour Party have tried to take a lead, working with other parties and organisations in order to gain support.