Green councillors today (8 December) demand council action to back communities tackling the climate emergency.
A wide-ranging Green Party Climate Emergency motion has gained cross-party support and is likely to be agreed at this evening’s full council meeting. It:
- Recognises the recent international COP26 gathering in Glasgow failed to meet the needs of the planet
- Calls on the council to step in and support community action to create a net zero economy
- Demands the council provides city-wide leadership to back ‘a local Green Investment Bond, as promoted by the Local Government Association, which can enable those in our communities who are able to invest, to contribute to the development of local green infrastructure projects.’
The support for the Green Party initiative comes on the eve of Foreign Ministers from the G7 most industrialised countries arriving in the city for a weekend meeting, which will be met with a Vigil for Climate Justice at the Pier Head at 6pm on Friday December 10.
Green Group leader Tom Crone said:
‘At COP26, governments largely failed to agree on the rapid decarbonisation of the economy required to save our planet. However, the Glasgow Climate Pact did recognise a crucial role for communities and local authorities.
‘The pact explicitly calls on us “to actively involve local communities in designing and implementing climate action”. That is why we are pleased that the council has now agreed to step forward. It will bring communities together around a programme of education and engagement that uses all our energy to create a local economy that is sustainable and delivers well-being for all.
Cllr Crone said that council must also act to hold the G7 Foreign Ministers to account.
‘These world leaders must be faced with their responsibilities under the new COP26 agreement to facilitate trade and development policies that promote sustainable development and do not drive deforestation and land degradation.
‘That’s why environmentalists will be gathering at the Pier Head on Friday evening to once again demand international climate justice and why I am inviting the council leadership to come along and show the leadership we need.’