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Greens called for St Neots Town Council to Declare an Ecology Emergency.
A motion from Green Councillors calling on St Neots Town Council to declare an Ecology Emergency was passed at a Full Council meeting on Tuesday (25th October) with a commitment to reverse and restore nature in the town by 2030.
The motion, submitted by Councillor Daniel Laycock, who wanted to see biodiversity increased within the town as the UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. Above this, more than one in seven of our plants and animals face extinction, and more than 40% are in decline. The motion text notes nature is declining faster than at any previous time and urgent action must be taken to reverse this trend, that a thriving natural environment underpins a healthy, prosperous society and argues that the nature and climate crises are intrinsically linked, and we cannot tackle one without taking action on the other.
It asks the Town Council to declare a Ecology Emergency and pledge to make ensure nature’s recovery is embedded at the heart of all strategic plans, policy areas and decision-making processes. The motion calls on the Environment and Emergency Committee, Chaired by Cllr Daniel Laycock submits a report to Full Council setting out options to develop and agree on an evidence-based strategy and action plan to tackle the ecological emergency and report on the progress made to report back on the actions that will be taken to address the emergency.
However, the motion was amended by Cllr Pitt and Cllr Chapman to be deferred to the Environment and Emergency Committee for it to be “flushed out” in policy.
Green Councillor Daniel Laycock said:
“This is a fantastic day for our ecosystem and biodiversity and I’m delighted the Council will be working to ensure we restore nature. The IPCC report made it clear that time to preserve Earth as we know it is running out. We can’t wait for the UN or national governments to negotiate when we have just 7 years to act – we have to show how it’s done and commit to ambitious action at the level of the town, which we did this evening.
“I’m grateful to my colleague Cllr Catherine Goodman, who supported me in bringing this motion to council and leading others in the right direction, to those councillors who saw the importance of taking action in support of this motion.
Green Councillor Catherine Goodman, who seconded the motion, said she was overjoyed by the outcome and added:
“The next step is to ensure that Tuesday’s evening’s Full Council commitments are followed by ambitious action. Over the coming years, Greens will continue to hold the Council to account on today’s decision. We know that this is a big commitment for the town and to meet this target an awareness of biodiversity will have to factor into every decision the Council takes. We look forward to the Environment and Emergency Committee reporting back to the Full Council on what action will be taken.”
Background:
Actions that the Council could take might include involving nature’s recovery is embedded at the heart of all strategic plans, policy areas and decision-making processes in every decision the Council takes, connect to the St Neots Climate Action Plan, and with the creation of a Biodiversity Action Plan for St Neots Town Council, as well as linking to Cambridgeshire-level plans.. Some of the key points were:
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Call on the Council and Environment and Emergency Committee to ensure nature’s recovery is embedded at the heart of all strategic plans, policy areas and decision-making processes.
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Request that the Environment and Emergency Committee submits a report to Full Council setting out options to develop and agree on an evidence-based strategy and action plan to tackle the ecological emergency and report on the progress made (with recommendation from the Environment and Emergency Committee to employ a Climate Officer; subject to costs and job role going back to the next E&E committee meeting), to sit alongside and connect to the St Neots Climate Action Plan, and with the creation of a Biodiversity Action Plan for St Neots Town Council, as well as linking to Cambridgeshire-level plans.
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The action plan must include ambitious targets and strategic goals to restore nature in St Neots, such as:
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Committing to protect land owned or managed by the Town Council for nature by 2030, in line with national and international commitments to biodiversity[1].
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Ensuring everyone living in St Neots has doorstep access to nature
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Commit to tackling the climate and ecological emergencies together by investing in local nature-based solutions to climate change.
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A commitment to annually report on progress on the action plan to the Environment and Emergency Committee and Full Council. Work with local communities and organisations to achieve nature’s recovery, particularly engaging with disadvantaged and underrepresented groups in St Neots.
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