THE CLIMATE INQUISITION IS HERE

 Have you heard of Climate Emergency UK? They are a little known group of self-appointed inquisitors whose aim is to try and bully local councils into doing more to reach the mythical net zero. They have devised a set of about 91 questions to keep local councils tied up responding to them through using the Freedom of Information rules. Although many of the questions are reasonable, some are stretching the boundaries between normal council activity and outright activism. Here is a small sample of the latter with my comments in red:

Does the council include a policy in the Local Plan to create 15/20 minute neighbourhoods? These are controversial as they involve restricting the free movement of motor vehicles and have caused a lot of opposition where they have been proposed.

Has the Council approved a planning application for a carbon intensive energy system to be built or expanded from 2019? Presumably this would include any industry that required use of fossil fuels and so bring employment to the area. This is a political decision where a balanced approach is required.

Has the council's area wide carbon emissions decreased, according to UK Government data? This is beyond the powers of the local council. 

Has the council adopted a new governance or decision making process to put tackling the climate emergency at the heart of every council decision made? They seem to imply that net zero should come before any other policy. That is not necessarily what the majority of people voted for. 

What percentage of the council's overall staff work on implementing their Climate Action Plan or other climate change projects? This question implies that councils should increase their workforce, ignoring the fact that they could be more efficient.

 

Have all senior management and councillors in the cabinet or committee chairs received climate awareness training? This assumes that they all agree with the premise that net zero is a sensible policy.

Has the council passed a motion in support of divestment from all fossil fuels from the councils' pension funds? This could interfere with the first priority of a pension fund to invest in the most profitable companies. 

Has the council lobbied the government for climate action? It is not the job of local government to lobby the government.

Is the council working with external partners or other councils to seek to influence national governments on climate action, or to learn about and share best practice on council climate action? See previous answer.

Is the council working in partnership with schools or other education settings to deliver climate action that young people can engage with? Young people should be presented with balanced information when learning about controversial political matters.

Has the council passed a motion to ban high carbon advertising and sponsorship? Councils should not be interfering in the free market economy.

Do schools in the council area serve less meat in school meals? It should not be the job of the council to interfere in the diet of children or adults.

Has the council removed minimum parking requirements for new residential homes across their area? This would simply lead to more on-street parking which would be very unpopular.