Agenda item

            The Committee was reminded that, at the Council meeting on 4th March, the following motion on Climate Emergency had been proposed by Councillor Matt Collins and seconded by Councillor Heading:

“This Council congratulates the Extinction Rebellion movement and other activists who have recently protested in Belfast and across the world in order to highlight the threat of catastrophic climate change.  The Council recognises this as one of the greatest threats facing citizens in Belfast, and believes that urgent action must be taken in Belfast and globally in order to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change.  Accordingly, the Council agrees to immediately declare a “Climate Emergency”.

The Council also urges other local Councils to follow suit, and calls on both British and Irish governments to also declare a climate emergency.  Such a call aims to see Belfast move away from fossil fuels and fully toward renewable energy sources.  This initiative would see the Council doing everything it can to tackle climate change and reduce carbon emissions, including, for example, ensuring that all new buildings are ecologically friendly, that the retrofitting of homes is a priority, and that public transport is expanded.  The Council agrees to immediately establish a multi-agency team across the city, which should include various governmental departments, political parties and other relevant agencies, to ensure that tackling the causes of climate change is an immediate priority.”

The motion had, in accordance with Standing Order 13(f), the motion had been referred without discussion to the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee.

The Commissioner for Resilience outlined the actions which had been undertaken since the motion had been presented to the Council, particularly:

·        the recent establishment of the Working Group on the Climate Crisis;

·        the establishment, in partnership with Queen’s University, of a Climate Commission for the City;

·        the commissioning of a mini-stern to provide an economic analysis on carbon reduction; and

·        ongoing engagement and research on the development of a Resilience Strategy, which would be present to the Committee in September for approval.

In view of that work, she recommended that the aforementioned motion be referred to the Working Group for consideration and confirmed that a detailed report, setting out the associated actions, timeframes and costs and aligning with timescales for consultation on the City’s Resilience Strategy, would, in due course, be submitted to the Committee for consideration.

Councillor Matt Collins, who had proposed the motion, welcomed the work which was being undertaken across the Council to address climate change and related issues. He highlighted the need for Belfast to declare a Climate Emergency as a matter of priority and suggested that the Lord Mayor host an event to launch the Declaration. He concluded by requesting that the report which had been alluded to by the Commissioner for Resilience be prioritised and submitted to the next monthly meeting of the Committee.

 After discussion, the Committee agreed to refer the motion on Climate Emergency to the Working Group on the Climate Crisis. The Committee agreed also that a report be submitted to its monthly meeting in September, setting out proposed actions to be undertaken in advance of Belfast being in a position to declare a Climate Emergency, with the aim of that being before the end of 2019.