9 February 2019
There were celebrations all round on Thursday 7th January as the Green councillors in Redhill secured a climate emergency motion for Reigate and Banstead.
All the councillors agreed that addressing climate change was urgent and should be integrated into the Council's plans.
Cllr Hal Brown said: "Many of us have children so it strikes me that it is far wiser to err on the side of caution and take action for their sake and future, rather than do nothing and risk letting them down terribly when the opportunity was there to take a stand and make a difference. What's the worst that can happen? We end up with a cleaner environment in the Borough in which to live. That doesn't sound too bad to me. On top of that there are the associated cost savings for the borough as outlined in the motion".
The meeting took place at Reigate Town Hall on Thursday 7th Janury, 2019, and the purpose of the Climate Change Motion was to challenge the Council to commit to greater and more urgent action on climate change. This was in light of the IPCC Special Report on Global Warming published in October 2018, which stated that we have just 12 years to act on climate change if global temperature rises are to be kept within the recommended 1.5 degrees Celsius.
This was a significant win for the Greens and for Reigate and Banstead and there is hope that other councils will now follow suit.
For more information about the motion click here
