Motion to declare a climate emergency will be voted on again

This follows an issue from the last council meeting on July 30, where a vote had been miscounted.

At the meeting, the online voting system also caused confusion with councillors having to check that they had voted as they intended.

Those for the original motion had to vote against the deferral, and vice versa.

And due to broadband connectivity issues, some councillors were forced to give their vote verbally, not just on this vote but several others.

The vote for the deferral motion had been tied at 28 votes each, and was decided on the casting vote of the council Chairman, Councillor Beverley Baynham.

According to the minutes which are also set to be agreed at Thursday’s meeting, this vote should have been 29 for the deferral, 27 against and two abstentions.

After the deferral motion had been defeated, the climate emergency motion was supported by 30 votes to 20 against and four abstentions.

Last month the council asked for external legal advice on what to do after a mistake in counting and combining the electronic and verbal votes was found.

The motion has been put forward again by Councillor Jake Berriman and Councillor Jackie Charlton.

Councillor Berriman said: “Let’s hope that we can come together now in common cause and deal with this for everyone’s benefit.”

The motion, says: “This Council notes the IPPC Panel report on Global warming predicts severe impacts to health, home and environment, with the severe floods of October 2019 and February 2020 endangering Powys communities, clearly demonstrating that we are ill prepared for the challenges we face as a Council.

“This Council notes that by declaring a climate emergency, councils are demonstrating their collective leadership and signifying the urgency which, as a publicly accountable body, they place on tackling climate change and de-carbonising the economy as required by The Environment (Wales) Act 2016.

“This Council notes that by supporting the Local Electricity Bill the council will remove the barriers to local energy supply, and could lead by example in reducing its corporate carbon footprint by using our farm estate to become a local renewable electricity provider, whilst also supporting communities to find innovative ways to reduce their carbon footprint and invest in, and support, their community facilities.

“This Council notes Fay Jones’ MP commitment to the cross-party effort to have the Local Electricity Bill passed into law, helping Councils kick-start a local energy revolution which has the potential to reduce Powys’ carbon footprint once and for all whilst distributing the benefits to local communities perpetually.

The motion asks councillors to agree to:

• Join with other councils across Wales in declaring a Climate Emergency

• Support the implementation of Prosperity for All: A Low Carbon Wales (March 2019) to make Powys County Council a net zero carbon local authority by 2030.

• Request the Leader to consider assigning roles within the cabinet to lead on Climate Change mitigation and to actively engage with all members and stakeholders by: A. setting up a cross-party working group and, B. establishing a Powys-wide multi-stakeholder group, to develop a baseline picture @2020 and bring forward a strategy and action plan @2021 for a truly sustainable Powys.

• Support our MPs to ensure the Local Electricity Bill succeeds in an Adjournment

• Debate to encourage and enable the local supply of electricity and facilitate more resilient Powys communities.

• Ask Welsh and UK Governments to provide the necessary support and resources to enable effective carbon reductions and transition to a green Powys economy.