The Somerset Floods - by Matilda Temperley

Cllr Shane Collins started this petition to Mendip District Council

We should be under no illusions. Unless we make systemic changes we are looking at food shortages, flooding of coastal cities and mass migration in 30 - 40 years. 

The science is clear, as the recent IPCC reports confirms: to have a chance of stopping climate change we need zero emissions in the UK by 2030 or around 11 years. If not we risk joining 1000's of other species in the sixth mass extinction. 

Ignorance is no excuse. We must all do what we can but these huge changes will not happen unless Councils, corporations and especially the UK Government 'Declare a Climate Emergency' and start to take responsibility and action. The changes are too vast for individuals to make the change in such a short time. 

We call on the Conservative run MDC to Declare a Climate Emergency. 

Please sign and share and email your Mendip District Councillor. To find out who that is go to http://www.mendip.gov.uk/wards 

The motion below will be discussed at Full Council on Monday 25th February and the meeting is open to the public. 

The Somerset Floods - by Matilda Temperley

Motion: MDC Declare a Climate Emergency

Full Council notes: 

1. Humans have already caused irreversible climate change, the impacts of which are being felt around the world. Global temperatures have already increased by 1 degree Celsius from pre-industrial levels. Atmospheric CO2 levels are above 400 parts per million (ppm). This far exceeds the 350 ppm deemed to be a safe level for humanity; 

2. In order to reduce the chance of runaway Global Warming and limit the effects of Climate Breakdown, it is imperative that we as a species reduce our CO2eq (carbon equivalent) emissions from their current 6.5 tonnes per person per year to less than 2 tonnes as soon as possible;1 

3. Individuals cannot be expected to make this reduction on their own. Society needs to change its laws, taxation, infrastructure, etc., to make low carbon living easier and the new norm; 

4. Carbon emissions result from both production and consumption; 

5. Mendip District Council has already shown foresight and leadership when it comes to addressing the issue of Climate Breakdown, having banned single use plastics in it’s activities, setting up a climate change working group and banning fracking in Mendip. 

6. Unfortunately, our current plans and actions are not enough. The world is on track to overshoot the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C limit before 2050;2, 3 

7. The International Panel on Climate Change - IPCC’s Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C, published October 2018, describes the enormous harm that a 2°C rise is likely to cause compared to a 1.5°C rise, and told us that limiting Global Warming to 1.5°C may still be possible if the UK gets to zero emissions by 2030 but only with ambitious action from national and sub-national authorities, civil society, the private sector, indigenous peoples and local communities3; 

8. Councils around the UK and the world are responding by declaring a ‘Climate Emergency’ and committing resources to address this emergency.4 

The Somerset Floods - by Matilda Temperley

Full Council believes that:

1. All governments (national, regional and local) have a duty to limit the negative impacts of Climate Breakdown, and local governments that recognise this should not wait for their national governments to change their policies. It is important for the residents of Mendip and the UK that districts commit to carbon neutrality as quickly as possible; 

2. The consequences of global temperature rising above 1.5°C are so severe that preventing this from happening must be humanity’s number one priority. 

3. Bold climate action can deliver economic benefits in terms of new jobs, economic savings and market opportunities (as well as improved well-being for people worldwide).

Full Council calls on Mendip District Council to:

1. Declare a ‘Climate Emergency’; 

2. Pledge to make the district of Mendip carbon neutral by 2030, taking into account both production and consumption emissions (scope 1, 2 and 3)5; 

3. Call on Westminster to provide the powers and resources to make the 2030 target possible; 

4. Work with other councils and governments to determine and implement best practice methods to limit Global Warming to less than 1.5°C; 

5. Continue to work with partners across the district and region to deliver this new goal through all relevant strategies and plans; 

6. Submit a bid as part of the Council’s budget setting process for an additional £80,000 to fund a ‘Sustainability’ Officer Post for a two year period to champion the scoping and delivery of the District Council’s Climate Emergency 2030 commitment. 

7. Report to Full Council every six months with the actions the Council will take to address this emergency. 

The Somerset Floods - by Matilda Temperley

References:

1. Fossil CO2 & GHG emissions of all world countries, 2017: http://edgar.jrc.ec.europa.eu/overview.php?v=CO2andGHG1970-2016&dst=GHGpc 

2. World Resources Institute: https://www.wri.org/blog/2018/10/8-things-you-need-know-about-ipcc-15-c-report

3. The IPCC’s Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5ºC: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sr15/ 

4. Including US cities Berkeley: https://www.theclimatemobilization.org/blog/2018/6/13/berkeley-unanimously-declares-climate-emergency and Hoboken: https://www.theclimatemobilization.org/blog/2018/4/25/hoboken-resolves-to-mobilize and the C40 cities: https://www.c40.org/other/deadline-2020

5. Scope 1, 2 and 3 of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol explained: https://www.carbontrust.com/resources/faqs/services/scope-3-indirect-carbon-emissions

6. Large parts of Somerset at risk of being underwater as Met Office predicts up to 1m rise in sea level in Bristol Channel - https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/somerset-news/met-office-somerset-flood-warning-2262067