Reform climate motion sparks opposition anger

Reform UK's attempt to rescind the council's climate declaration will be debated at the council's full meeting on Thursday

Opposition parties on a Reform UK-led council have expressed anger at an attempt to rescind the authority's declaration of a climate emergency.

A motion due to be discussed by Kent County Council (KCC) on Thursday, says the declaration which has been in place since 2019 "has had no discernible effect on the world's climate".

It says the resulting policies have been "to the detriment of small, local suppliers" and "scared numerous young people".

Green councillors have described the move as "anti-science and dangerous", and the Liberal Democrats as "an act of political vandalism", although it is being supported by the Conservatives.

The Reform motion is calling on KCC to be "open minded but sceptical" of man-made climate change.

It also wants the authority to consider any energy scheme proposal by analysing its business case, including "economic, social and environmental impacts and consequences".

The overwhelming consensus among scientists is that human activities are causing climate change, posing serious threats to people and nature.

The year 2024 was the hottest on record and the first to surpass 1.5C (34.7F) of warming, according to the European Copernicus climate service, one of the main global data providers.

The UN's climate body - the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) - concluded in 2023 that "human activities, principally through emissions of greenhouse gases, have unequivocally caused global warming".

Linden Kemkaran, the Reform UK leader at KCC, said: "We look forward to discussing the review of Kent County Council's climate emergency declaration once all members have had their say in the council chamber on Thursday.

"It's right that this debate happens properly, in the chamber."

Stuart Jeffery, the Green Party leader on Kent County Council, says the idea of rescinding the climate emergency declaration is "dangerous"

Stuart Jeffery, who leads the Greens on KCC, said: "Kent is at the forefront of climate impacts.

"We are severely water stressed, we will suffer most from summer heatwaves, the sea level rises will devastate communities and we will have new diseases such as dengue to contend with.

"Reform's paper to council is full of conspiracy theories and garbage science.

"The science is clear, climate change is an emergency and we must prepare now for the impacts."

Lib Dem leader Antony Hook said the motion was "an act of vandalism"

Antony Hook, leader of the Liberal Democrat group, said: "At the end of this record-breaking dry summer during which farmers and vulnerable members of our community such as the elderly have suffered so badly, to see Reform try to deny a climate emergency is a wilful act of political vandalism.

"Their approach would leave our residents with higher energy bills, our communities more vulnerable to flooding, and our local economy lagging behind in the green jobs revolution."

However, Sarah Hudson, Conservative member for the environment and transport committee, said her party was in support of the Reform Party proposal.

She said: "It is pointless impoverishing UK, and specifically Kent, residents when China and other heavily industrialised nations continue to spew out all manner of pollutants.

"We as a country are now paying some of the highest energy prices in the Western hemisphere."

UKIP councillor Amelia Randall, who quit Reform in September, said her former party was right to rescind the declaration.

The Labour Party has been approached for a comment.

The meeting will be streamed live on the KCC website.