Scarborough Council recognises ongoing ecological emergency
The borough authority has declared its support for the Climate and Ecological Emergency Private Members’ Bill.
Two years on from declaring a climate emergency, Scarborough Council has now voted to recognise an ongoing ecological emergency.
The borough authority has declared its support for the Climate and Ecological Emergency (CEE) Private Members’ Bill, proposed by Green Party MP Caroline Lucas.
The council declared a climate emergency in 2019 and will now write to the borough’s two Conservative MPs, Robert Goodwill and Kevin Hollinrake, urging them to support the bill.
Scarborough Council, as a result of the vote, will also examine what measures it can take to protect wildlife and wildlife habitats in the borough.
The motion had been proposed by Labour Cllr Theresa Norton and seconded by Cllr Neil Robinson of the Green Party.
Cllr Norton told the meeting:
“We have recently heard the latest warnings from the United Nations Secretary General based on the latest IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report ‘Code Red for Humanity.
“The alarm bells are deafening and the evidence is irrefutable. The continuing rise in global warming has been proven to be a direct result of human activity.”
She called on councillors to join the 104 other councils that had declared an ecological emergency.
Cllr Norton added:
“Scarborough Borough Council was one of the first councils to make the brave and bold decision to declare a climate emergency in 2019.
We proved to be one of the forerunners, one of the first councils to do so.
“And it would be nice to think that we can follow that up to the in support of the CEE bill.”
The bill calls for the formation of citizens assemblies to help shape climate policy.
The motion was approved with one vote against. The 11 Conservative councillors present abstained from the vote.