In November 2022 the Parish Council formally declared a climate emergency, recognising both the scale of the challenge and its responsibility to act locally. This declaration brings a number of important benefits, including sharpening councillors’ focus on climate change and ensuring environmental considerations are reflected in the Council’s day-to-day decision-making and activities. It also demonstrates leadership within the community, setting a positive example for parishioners and for younger generations in local schools. By making this declaration, the Council commits to working in partnership with other organisations to identify and implement best practice approaches that help limit global warming and mitigate the impacts of climate change. It further commits to working towards making its own operations as carbon neutral as possible, both directly through its routine activities and indirectly through procurement and outsourced services. Above all, the declaration sends a clear message that the Parish Council is attuned to the needs of its community and is determined to do more to support both current residents and future generations.
Legal and Practical Authority: Parish councils in England have the remit to address climate change through local initiatives, energy-saving measures, and community engagement.
Parish councils are the level of government closest to local communities and can influence climate action in several ways. The Sustainable Energy and Climate Change Act 2006 grants parish councils specific powers to implement local energy-saving measures, which can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to tackling climate change. While they do not have the same regulatory authority as principal local authorities, they can act as community leaders, shaping local attitudes and encouraging sustainable practices. The National Association of Local Councils has produced a list of all Powers that parish council have to tackle climate change.
GRIMLEY PARISH COUNCIL
MEMBER OF WORCESTERSHIRE COUNTY ASSOCIATION OF LOCAL COUNCILS.
International Runaway Global Heating Extinction Emergency
Mission Statement: Our Declaration is about creating a better and sustainable future for ourselves and our children, that will enhance our community, environment, local economy and our overall well-being.
Background introduction: Following the 2018 IPPC Climate Change report which warned that humanity has only 12 years to take emergency action in order to prevent global warming greater than 1.5°C (largely ignored by world governments), and the Government’s failure to take meaningful action after amending the Climate Change Act 2008, Grimley Parish Council declares that it recognises the urgency of addressing this global heating extinction crisis.
The previous version of this declaration referred simply to ‘climate change’, but unless we define more exactly the nature of the threat, we will never be able to manage it. The specific wording and detail of ‘global heating extinction emergency declarations’ are important politically, even when they can’t include cast-iron commitments to deliver very significant climate changing reductions.
Only 70 MPs and peers attended an emergency climate briefing by the UK government's chief scientific adviser in parliament on 11th July 2022. It is three years since the UK Parliament declared a climate emergency, and, at the time of publication of this declaration (2022) ministers were still not heeding scientists’ dire warnings about the climate emergency and MPs are still not all fully informed about the latest climate science. These concerns were not adequately addressed in The UK 2023 Net Zero Growth Plan which attempted to set out an update to existing carbon neutral strategies, focusing on the scale-up and deployment of technologies for decarbonising homes, power, industry and transport. The recently published “UK’s plans and progress to reach net zero by 2050 - Research Briefing (26 September 2024) noted that low-carbon technologies are becoming cheaper, although uptake remains low, and there is an increasing need to focus on how the UK adapts to climate changes that have already happened.
The Parish Council acknowledges that whilst its ability to take direct action is very limited, this Council will exercise further action through information, education and influence.
According to the Local Government Association by mid-2022 around 300 councils had declared a climate emergency.
What are other councils doing? Councils nationwide are acting to:
- reduce their own carbon emissions and seek to lead local level action to reduce carbon emissions.
- work with partners and local communities to tackle the impact of climate change on their local area.
- increase biodiversity,
- improve the quality of life of their residents and the local environment.
- encourage a change in mindset in order to more readily reach local goals and objectives.
- work with local schools to ensure that age-appropriate messages are delivered and importantly to tackle ‘climate anxiety’ amongst young people.
- support the message of inspiring hope and movement towards positive change.
- support council advisory body statements on the right to protest whilst confirming that it is for individuals to decide on the appropriateness of their actions.
Objectives: Grimley Parish Council will pursue and support the delivery of five objectives:
First. A significant and ongoing reduction in the use of energy in buildings, transport, food, and consumption across the parish. This contributes to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, pollution and biodiversity loss. The consumption of energy, particularly fossil fuels is a primary cause of Climate Change.
Second. The regeneration and rebuilding of our natural ecosystems which will contribute to drawing down carbon from the air into carbon stores in our soils, woodlands and grasslands. Such action in our gardens, allotments, woodland, grassland, verges, wetlands, farmland etc will also contribute to the enhancement of biodiversity, wildlife, flood/drought mitigation, pollution reduction.
Third. Promote and support adaptation measures to reduce the risks to our community arising from Climate Change. Areas of our parish are regularly inundated by floodwater with distressing impacts to homes, businesses and farmland. The forecast with climate change is for the frequency and severity of such occurrences to increase. More extreme weather events, rising temperatures, and expanding ranges of new species of insects, birds, plants etc will have pose a threat to our familiar native species of wildlife, crops and farm animals.
Fourth. Lobby and support urgent efforts to de-carbonise energy and insulate homes, focused on households in fuel poverty to ensure people can cope with the worsening cost of living crisis.
Fifth. Campaign to get government to give parish councils more finances and powers to invest in projects supporting climate friendly initiatives. At present, the parish council has no legal power to invest or support many climate crisis mitigation measures and currently taking action on climate change is not a statutory requirement for any level of government.
Grimley Parish Council will have full regard for the above objectives, specifically in:
- The management of Parish staff, land, commons and greens.
- Contracts and the commissioning of projects.
- Promoting local food production, businesses and enterprises.
- Commenting on planning applications, developments – green spaces, transport, infrastructure.
- Information to individuals and parish businesses, organisations and schools in our area.
- Information to wider authorities and colleagues, lobbying higher tier councils and Government.
- Encourage and enable working parties of local volunteers, in order to harvest resident ideas on changes that can contribute towards a more sustainable, climate friendly Parish.
- Encourage residents to create their own list of small scale, achievable projects identifying specific targets and actions that can also be developed by the council, residents and working parties.
In 2025 the Parish Council voted to support and incorporate best practice within the Local Government Association climate change web resources.
View the LGA website here
In 2026 the Parish Council Clerk has applied to be involved in the National Association of Local Councils 'National Network' for parish and town councils already taking action locally to help tackle the climate and ecological emergency.
View the NALC website here
Articles about our climate emergency: