"Absolutely bizarre": Reform Nottinghamshire Council leader reacts to idea to move net-zero target from 2040 to 2030

Coun Mick Barton (Ref) was responding to a letter from Mansfield Council asking for the county council’s ‘unequivocal support’ for climate change initiatives, after a number of Reform-led councils in the UK, including West Northamptonshire and Durham, opted to scrap their climate change commitments.

And last summer, the county council’s cabinet member for the environment, Coun Bert Bingham (Ref), said he didn’t believe in man-made climate change after the same suggestion, to move the target date to 2030, was put on the table by a Labour county councillor.

The Mansfield letter to Coun Barton, which was proposed in September by Coun Paul Henshaw (Lab), referenced the district council’s 2019 unanimous vote to aim for net-zero by 2040.

But it said: “However, radical action may need to be taken to reduce our carbon emissions more quickly, aiming for 2030.”

Coun Barton replied: “I find this absolutely bizarre, and unfeasibleand I think your own Government will be changing their target of 2030 within their term of office as this is unreachable by this point in time.

“From my own point of view, this country is on its knees because previous Conservative and Labour Governments, for the last four decades, have not put forward an achievable plan regarding net zero.

“We have lots of residents in fuel poverty due to the rising energy costs, which is being inflated by chasing these unachievable targets.”

The ex-coal miner also took the opportunity to slate the decision by previous Governments to shut down the coal industry, saying he does not see it as ‘progress’.

Yet he confirmed that he believed there ‘is a future’ for non-coal energy sources such as oil, gas, nuclear, wind energy, hydropower, biomass and net fusion.

He said any future would need ‘significant investment and a long-term plan’ and noted he disagrees with ‘covering our countryside in solar panels’.

He added that Nottinghamshire Council had ‘demonstrated a strong commitment to environmental sustainability and climate action under the Leadership of my administration’.

He then listed examples of how the council is delivering it.

These included replacing 70,000 street lamp lanterns with LED lights, transitioning to a low-emission vehicle fleet and offering hybrid working from both home and the office for employees to reduce travel-related carbon emissions.

Also mentioned was the council’s partnering with schools and libraries to deliver education programmes about the environment, encouraging public participation in tree-planting events and training staff to enhance understanding of climate and weather-related issues.

Coun Barton signed the letter off by saying: “I hope this highlights how under our leadership Nottinghamshire Council is being proactive in its approach to environmental sustainability and achieving significant outcomes.”