Time to tell the truth about climate inaction

It's time for Cornwall Councillors to tell the truth: Our target for Cornwall to be Carbon Neutral by 2030 is now completely impossible.

Five years ago, there was a sudden surge in public awareness and concern about climate change. Public meetings took place across the Duchy, and Cornwall Councillors voted unanimously to “Declare a Climate Emergency” and set a target for Cornwall to be Carbon Neutral by 2030.

Initially I was proud of this declaration, but it soon became clear to me that there was no hope of achieving the 2030 target. The “Cornwall Climate Change Action Plan” contained more questions than answers. They were the right questions but, five years later, due to lack of Government support, most of them remain unanswered.

Nationally, both the Conservatives and Labour parties claim to support a 2050 target for the UK to reach net zero. So for Cornwall’s 2030 target to be achieved, we would either need the Government to radically accelerate the national plans, or we would need Cornwall to be given significant extra funding and powers to move at a faster pace.

But far from accelerating the national targets, Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has hit the brakes. First he delayed the timetable for the phase out of petrol and diesel cars and gas and oil boilers. Now he is even trying to pass a law requiring new oil and gas exploration licences to be issued every year! This was the last straw for Conservative former Energy Minister Chris Skidmore, who is quitting Parliament in protest.

And it's far from clear what Labour would do in power. In 2021, Keir Starmer pledged that a Labour Government would invest £28 billion every year on this green transition. But last year he said it wouldn't actually be every year and now he says it might not even be £28 billion! And whilst they say they oppose new oil and gas licences, they have ruled out cancelling any which have already been signed.

So, with the national 2050 target hanging in the balance, and no central Government support for Cornwall to go faster, I am calling for Councillors to tell the truth: Our 2030 target is now impossible. The Council's latest report predicts that Cornwall won't reach net zero until 2054-2060, so to say we're “aiming for 2030” is simply misleading.

Nationally the Liberal Democrats are committed to a 2045 target, and locally I believe that the best way for us to make faster progress is to stop arguing about the end-date and start paying more attention to the details of how we will get there. That's why my motion to Cornwall Council calls for something which was missing from our 2019 declaration: A dedicated Climate Change and Nature Recovery Scrutiny Committee to ensure that every person, every business and every building in Cornwall receives the support they need to make their energy use greener and more affordable.