Agenda item

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule No 8 to allow members of the public to ask questions about the Council’s activities for a period up to fifteen minutes.  The replies to any such questions will be given by the appropriate Cabinet Member.  Questions must be received in writing or by email to the Monitoring Officer by 12 noon twelve clear working days before the meeting.

The following questions had been received from members of the public.

(a)       Question submitted by Becky Turner to Councillor Jeremy Kenyon  

            The UK will host a COP26 in Glasgow this November.  The conference aims to accelerate action to prevent climate change.  The UK government has committed to work with multiple partners to inspire climate action ahead of COP.

            What will NEDDC be doing to inspire climate action ahead of COP in our region?

(b)       Question submitted by Mrs Thoday to Councillor Jeremy Kenyon

            I was saddened to hear that on 26^th April a motion proposed by Cllr Reader that this Council support the Climate and Ecological Emergency (CEE Bill) was rejected.

            Some of the reasons in the debate for rejecting the motion seems to centre around achieving net zero carbon emissions.  In actual act the Bill does not specify net zero target dates.  What the Bill does is to set out a framework within which policies would be developed to ensure the UK takes responsibility for its fair share of greenhouse gas emissions under current legally binding commitments.

            The Government’s own Climate Change Committee published two progress reports this month, showing the UK is lagging behind on its key goals.  The Chief Executive of the Committee said “Government strategy on cutting emissions has been late and what has come has almost all been too little”.

            Although many people choose to ignore the facts, we all know the consequences of doing too little are potentially horrifying for all future generations.

            Would you be prepared to review the CEE Bill in detail and the Climate Change Committee’s report and then to encourage this Council to reconsider a motion to support the CEE Bill?

(c)        Question submitted by Brian Lever to Councillor Jeremy Kenyon

            I appreciate that the District Council is making changes to limit its own carbon emissions.  I also appreciate that the environmental impact of District Council’s own activities is only a tiny fraction of the total impact of the activities of all the District’s residents and businesses.

            We all know from personal experience that the biodiversity of our planet is rapidly collapsing, and that if the collapse is not halted this will quickly result in worldwide crop failure and famine.  Also, science tells us that without very rapid moves to zero carbon humanity everywhere will “reap the whirlwind of floods, storms and drought” within very few generations.  We are on a “war footing” in the battle against extinction.

            Does Councillor Kenyon and the Council as a whole therefore appreciate that lifestyles and human behaviour everywhere must change rapidly, and that District Councils everywhere are uniquely placed to encourage and enable their own constituents to adopt eco-friendly behaviour?  If so does he and the Council as a whole also agree that in this battle against climate change and biodiversity loss, greatly increased and frequent consultation with the public is key to achieving agreement on the changes needed. 

            Will they set up a regularly meeting (preferably monthly, given the urgency of the crisis) NE Derbyshire Citizen’s Panel on Climate and Ecology?