Climate emergency declaration scrapped by council

Calderdale Council has voted to scrap its climate emergency declaration several years after it was introduced.

The decision was made by the Reform UK-led administration, despite its leader Dan Sutherland having proposed the original declaration when he was a Labour councillor in 2019, saying immediate action was needed.

Protesters gathered outside Halifax Town Hall before Wednesday's meeting, with two members of the public removed from the gallery during the debate.

Reform councillor Connor Dent told the meeting scrapping the declaration was not because "we should care less about our environment", but questioned whether it gave "the best possible outcomes" for residents and the environment.

During the meeting, a 90-year-old protester was among those escorted out by security staff after shouting that scientists had said there was a climate emergency and it should not be ignored.

After another two interruptions, the public gallery was ordered to be cleared, but eventually remaining members of the public were allowed to stay on the basis that they would not further interrupt the debate.

The decision in Calderdale follows similar moves by other Reform-led councils, including Wakefield, which recently voted to "undeclare" the climate emergency the authority had unanimously backed in 2019.

Outlining Calderdale's proposals, Dent said every pound spent by the council must be justified, and environmental policy must deliver real benefits and not just look good on paper.

He said changes shaped by the policy, including building cycle lanes, had caused congestion and a loss of parking spaces which residents had questioned.

He added that the expected increases in the level of cycling had not materialised.

Dent also said the policy had "disconnected" from local worries, citing a battery energy storage plant being given planning permission at Holmfield in Halifax.

Supporting him, Reform councillor Mike Payne said practical, proportionate, safe environmental measures that benefited residents would be supported, but not "virtue signalling".

Opposing the motion, Labour councillor Scott Patient said Reform-led councils were following the party line.

He said the declaration had helped secure £150m for projects, including home insulation, flood resilience and public buildings, and argued that any savings from scrapping it would be minimal.

Supporting him, Councillor Martin Hey, leader of the Green Party group, said that climate initiatives had helped create a green economy worth millions of pounds, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Before the meeting, councillors were lobbied by residents and groups, including Green New Deal and Extinction Rebellion, who voiced concerns about the council's withdrawal from the commitment.

One campaigner, Ali Bath, from Extinction Rebellion, said the previous administration had tried to tackle the issue, but that was now under threat.

She added: "There are huge impacts on our everyday lives and I don't know how communities are going to cope. I don't think people are prepared."

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