Councils make ‘undemocratic’ pledges in dash to reach net zero
By Paul Homewood
h/t Philip Bratby
Millions of taxpayers face an accelerated dash to reach net zero with at least 160 councils signing “undemocratic” pledges to beat the Government’s 2050 targets, The Telegraph can disclose.
Local authorities across the country have introduced curbs after joining climate campaigns, including closing streets to traffic, charging vehicles to enter city centres and removing parking spaces.
Research by Together and Climate Debate UK has now mapped the councils involved for the first time.
“The pledges are not just undemocratic, but antidemocratic,” the authors say. “The pledges’ principles and aims have not been contested in public. And the public have not been asked for their consent.”
Pledges include acting “sooner” than Westminster to reach net zero and committing to more “ambitious” plans of action.
The largest campaign organisation, UK100, pays for “political consultants” to work in the most enthusiastic councils one day a week to help them reach their climate change goals.
The 110 councils that have signed up to UK100 must promise that: “As local leaders across the UK, we recognise our responsibility to tackle the climate emergency and take bold action towards net zero.
“We will continue to lead the UK’s response to climate change, acting sooner than the Government’s goal by making substantial progress within the next decade to deliver net zero.”
Members note that they will “accelerate the delivery of local climate action” and “do everything within our power and influence” to “rapidly reduce” greenhouse gas emissions.
The majority of councils signing up to UK100 – almost 60 per cent – are either Labour-led or have Labour in power as part of a coalition.
A total of 65 councils have also signed up to the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, with a cross over of 15 councils committing to both pledges.
The Global Covenant founding document states that those involved “commit to targets that will eventually be more ambitious than those of their respective national government”.
UK100’s members include Oxford city council, which has pledged to be net zero by 2040, a whole decade before the government target.
The authority has already introduced zero emission zones in which petrol, diesel and hybrid cars are charged up to £10 a day to use certain roads.
In implementing their zero carbon policies, the council had the help of a “net zero pathfinder”, a political consultant paid for by the UK100 network.
Leicester city council, which has signed up to both pledges, is attempting to become a carbon-neutral city by 2030 and has promised to make changes to increase cycling and walking and reduce reliance on cars.
In praising the work done by the “UK100’s Local Power in Action pathfinder” at the council, Adam Clarke, the deputy mayor, said that the consultant had “influenced effective decision making”.
Despite working in councils, UK100 does not name its funders, saying that they are “various grant giving organisations”. It has previously announced that it has received funding from the philanthropic organisation of billionaire financier Sir Christopher Hohn, who has also funded Extinction Rebellion.
Ben Pile, from Climate Debate, a group calling for discussion on net zero issues, said that the report showed the civil society organisations with the backing of billionaires were “increasingly seeking to influence local authorities’ policy agendas”.
He said: “Air pollution policies and other net zero policies will profoundly affect people’s lives, but there is little evidence of public support or agreement driving local authorities’ green agenda.
“It seems that Labour councils are among the keenest to deny working and poorer families the freedom of private transport. These are the very people Labour claim to fight for, but rather than asking local people if they want these draconian policies, Labour councils to be serving the world’s richest people instead.”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/01/06/councils-undemocratic-pledges-beat-governments-net-zero/
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NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT 
A race to poverty.
A race to poverty by the never ending fools chasing some fashionable acumen.
The corruption of big money is everywhere, driven by the corrupt and undemocratic UN and the WEF and the propaganda is spread by a bought media (such as the BBC). There is no democracy anymore, locally or nationally. Nobody has ever been consulted about the Climate Change Act or Net Zero.
Fascism has taken hold across the majority of the West. There has been a chink of light in some countries starting to turn away from it – Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, New Zealand, Argentina but sadly Poland seems to have gone fully fascist under Tusk. But the big success will be if we can take the US back in November. As far as consulting us on Net Zero, you will find the Tories hide behind it being in their manifesto in 2019 with a complete lack of detail – and cost of course – while everyone was focussed on Brexit.
Who are UK100 and who funds them?
Hi Cheshire, I have determined to investigate this issue as my local council (Canterbury) has gone full on rabid about this. First thing you come across is UK100 founder…..https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polly_Billington
and then the acting Chair has a degree in Religious Studies (very apt)
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jo-rogers-571083a/?originalSubdomain=uk
What we really need to find out is who are the funders. If I can track them down I will publish them on here.
The affiliated C40’s connections can be seen on Influence Watch, but I don’t think UK100 are on there.
https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/c40-cities-climate-leadership-group/
The sinister tentacles of Zero Carbon corruption have infiltrated almost every organisation, council, university, political party, television company and newspaper.
Here in Exeter, whilst the roads are allowed to go to rack and ruin and weeds are growing along every pavement, the council and highways department are spending millions of pounds in an unprecedented assault on the freedom of motorists and road restrictions now means that it takes me 10 to 15 minutes longer to get home every night. There is a massive campaign against these restrictions but it has virtually zero chance of succeeding. Because many side roads have been made one way or even closed completely to through traffic, the main roads in and out of the city are now often jammed solid- quite how anyone is idiotic enough to believe this insanity is reducing carbon emissions is beyond me.
Just as you would expect, as Exeter is red on the map. My part of Devon is not couloured, but like all local authorities, they are run by idiots who have declared a climate emergency.
The term “Leading Beyond Authority” – the Common Purpose mantra – comes to mind. How many local authority leaders have been on the Common Purpose courses, I wonder.
They have no such responsibility. Their responsibility is to deliver local services.
This is absolutely crucial.
All this incompetent virtue signalling is ULTRA VIRES. Just as it is no part of any parish, town, city, county or unitary council’s powers and authority to (say) declare war on China (or more probably, these lunatic lefty days, on Israel), the pursuit of “Net Zero” CANNOT legally be adopted as Council Policy.
This absurdity should have been nipped in the bud by HMG when councils started to declare themselves “Nuclear Free”. At least that normally only involved the cost of a few signs and much hot air. But they are now spending a huge amount of money that they should be spending on potholes and waste collection / disposal, schools, care homes etc. on nonsensical stuff for which they have zero responsibility and even less idea of how to achieve their supposed objectives.
Fixing potholes nets no trips to Dubai.
UK’s governments have become bored. Climate Mania brings excitement!
Disappointed to see Derby City Council is amongst those who’ve signed.
We have a Reform UK Mayor and six Reform councillors, but obviously need more
“Despair” is not an adequate description of how I feel…
Charles MacKay wrote about this in 1841.
“Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds”
The joke is on the councils. In their decadence, they kill their local economy. Which is from where they get their money. They are literally killing their councils. On something, as Jit says, that is not even in their charters.
Climate Mania.
Tulips, anyone?
BTW, had people voted for this, it wouldn’t have made it any better.
Whenever there is heavy rain, the pavement outside my block of flats floods to a depth of about two inches.
The cause of this is a sloping road leading down to the flat area outside, all the drain covers roadside are clogged with leaves and muck.
I have been noticing of late, how the roadside gutters everywhere are full of leaves and sludge, drain covers invisible, large collections of water at the road side.
I can’t remember the last times I saw a road sweeper and gully cleaner lorry.
Maybe instead of spending money on colour magazines telling us what a good job they are doing, and meeting climate and diversity objectives, Councils should use OUR money to sweep the streets and clean out the drains.
“I have been noticing of late, how the roadside gutters everywhere are full of leaves and sludge, drain covers invisible, large collections of water at the road side. I can’t remember the last time I saw a road sweeper and gully cleaner lorry”
I was thinking the same thing. However, quite recently, some action was finally taken, albeit in the wrong order! The first to appear was a gully emptier, and a few days later the road sweeper turned up. This means a lot of the leaves & debris will end up in the drains which had just been cleaned!
The local eco-loonies always appear bannered up when there’s a vote in the council and get loads of overage and supporting articles in the local MSM.
Any challengers are mobbed
more “ambitious” plans of action.
No wonder that word is in quote marks.
See the previous article – Skidmore all over it. FOIA question’s gone to my council asking if they are in this club.
Skidmarks?
+100 for a good laugh!
The more I read on the disaster that the UK local governments are making of “the auld country”, the more I congratulate myself on emigrating. OK – South Africa may be run by an incompetent criminal bunch, but they are SO incompetent that most things that should happen, do (except of course for the sewage system, water supply (but I repeat myself), the railways, the police…)
But virtue signalling, spending other people’s money, is just so much fun. Ordering people around is much more exciting than emptying bins and cleaning roads.
Governments have found governing to be boring.
We will see how people vote soon!
Will they support their incarceration or not?
Has postal voting been introduced to manage the outcome of an election.
How will councils pay the bills if no one works?
If you think some organization is behind this behavior, have a careful listen to this; it might give some clues:
It makes me think Bill Gates might just be one of their ‘useful idiots’ 😉
“It makes me think Bill Gates might just be one of their ‘useful idiots’”
Oh, he most certainly is!
Are there any estimates of costs to date and future costs for this nonsense from UK councils?
I have to deal with three local councils, they are all demonstrably incompetent.
Off-topic, but I wonder if this was an electric bus:
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/25319563/wimbledon-bus-fire-critical-incident/?utm_source=onesignal&utm_medium=web_push_notification&utm_campaign=web_push_2024-01-11
https://www.gresham.ac.uk/whats-on/weather-change
Fancy attending online and heckling, Paul?