We, the undersigned, call on Sevenoaks District Council, to recognise the scale and magnitude of the climate and nature emergency and pledge to:

● Publicly declare a Climate and Nature Emergency
● Reduce emissions from the Council’s estate to net zero by 2030
● Do all it can to reduce carbon emissions from Sevenoaks to net zero by 2050
● Take these steps to achieve net zero for the council and district:

a) Develop a Climate Change Strategy
b) Establish a Climate Change Panel
c) Convene a Climate Change Community Forum
d) Report on progress via FIAC and Cabinet
e) Provide a detailed Climate Change Assessment on all new undertakings
f) Ensure that annual budgeting allows for the above Net Zero goals
g) Write to Government to call for the powers, resources and funding to achieve Net Zero

These measures form the basis of a motion to be debated at the full council meeting on 14th November 2023. 

Members of the public may watch the debate live from the viewing gallery or on the Council’s YouTube channel (https://www.sevenoaks.gov.uk/info/20003/your_council/95/council_and_committee_meetings

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Detailed information on the steps referred to above.

Climate Change Strategy - we will develop a comprehensive Climate Change Strategy within 12 months that addresses all inward and outward-facing Council functions, ensures that all strategic decisions, budgets and approaches to planning are in line with net zero commitments, ensures that appropriate resources and capacity are in place to address the climate emergency effectively, supports and works with relevant agencies and stakeholders to facilitate a net zero and climate resilient district by 2050 and incorporates LGA guidance on what to do once a council has declared a climate emergency.

Climate Change Panel - council to establish this panel to champion the Net Zero Strategy and invite appropriate experts to support our climate change actions.

Climate Change Community Forum - for representation and participation from across the district including, but not be limited to, representatives from local communities, children and young people, parish and town councils, organisations, business, education, nature groups, agricultural, food, health and transport groups.

Reporting - to take place annually via the council’s advisory process in order to show our progress towards net zero, the impact on the council and the level of our investment in the fossil fuel industry.

Assessments - all new undertakings will include a detailed assessment of the impact on Climate Change and our net zero commitments. 

Budgeting - annual budgeting to prioritise action on the climate and nature emergency.

UK Government - the Portfolio Holder will write to central Government to set out the Council’s intentions and call for provision of the powers, resources and funding required to achieve them.

Additional notes

We are facing an unprecedented, anthropogenic climate and nature emergency and need to take collective responsibility for preserving the planet for future generations. The Climate and Nature Emergency is the most serious and urgent challenge facing communities across the World as well as Sevenoaks District. Whilst facing this emergency will be difficult, it is essential to protect the planet for future generations and to avoid the worst effects of climate change. We need a significant step change from local, national and international leaders to limit the most threatening effects of climate change such as disruption to the food chain and mass displacement. 

“The pace and scale of climate action are insufficient to tackle climate change. Accelerated action is required.” - IPCC** 2023

In October 2018 a ‘Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C’ was published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change which described the enormous harm that a 2°C average rise in global temperatures is likely to cause compared with a 1.5°C rise and confirmed that limiting Global Warming to 1.5°C may still be possible with ambitious action from national and local authorities, society and the private sector. 

“The position of councils as place-shapers, convenors of communities and local partners, asset-owners, problem solvers and significant purchasers puts them at the forefront of delivering real, tangible changes in the transition to net zero.” - LGA***

The need for a new plan

Under the current Net Zero Plan, Sevenoaks Council is unlikely to reach net zero by 2030. The people of Sevenoaks want us to act decisively on climate change and we owe it to them to protect their future with a much more comprehensive plan and bolder commitment for which they can hold us to account.

Furthermore, we need to take some responsibility for the county reaching net zero by 2050. Shifting the onus to other councils or residents and businesses will only result in missing all of our goals. Once we all accept responsibility, we can work together and achieve so much more. 

The most efficient and effective way for us to achieve net zero is to make use of the existing framework that other councils have adopted which starts with a public acknowledgement of the dire situation we face and a commitment to prioritising it.

Some of the work in this motion has already been started but this motion consolidates it, demonstrates leadership to business and individuals across the District and forms the basis of a new direction where we formally establish the climate and nature emergency as our most pressing concern and shift our workload towards addressing it in every way we can. 

Public declaration

In order to galvanise the collaborative efforts needed to avoid the worst effects of climate change, the following bodies have declared a climate and nature emergency which speaks to the power and leverage of a collective movement. 

18 National Governments and the EU ****
The UK Government 
Kent County Council
Canterbury, Dover, Dartford, Folkestone and Hythe, Gravesham, Medway, Thanet, Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge and Malling and Swale Councils
325 out of 393 UK councils *****

Sevenoaks and Ashford are the only councils in Kent that have not yet declared a climate and nature emergency. Given that so much of Sevenoaks district is a natural carbon sink and the council’s own emissions contribute such a small amount to climate change, it would seem a simple and proactive step for the council to join forces with the rest of the county and support the collective effort. 

Cleaner and Greener Committee

This matter has been discussed at the Cleaner and Greener Committee and with the Leader of the Council.

On 13th June 2023, the following question was asked at the Cleaner and Greener Committee: "The fact that Sevenoaks Council has a Net Zero policy speaks to the dedication of all members and officers to limiting the harmful effects of climate change. But does the Cleaner and Greener Committee feel that our Net Zero policy goes far enough towards addressing the climate and nature crisis or should we be considering an official declaration of a climate emergency, like 325 of the 393 other councils in the UK (many of which are Conservative-led)? For example, given the possibility that we may in fact miss our Net Zero targets, in part due to financial constraints, would collaborating for collective success strengthen our work and open a wider range of opportunities?"

On 10th October 2023, the Cleaner and Greener Committee received an update on the Council’s Net Zero target. The committee was told that the Council is only responsible for 0.36% of the district’s emissions and is working to reduce those. A question was asked as to whose responsibility it was to deliver Kent County Council’s and the UK Government’s target of Net Zero by 2050. The committee was told that Sevenoaks Council has little influence over this. However, both Kent County Council and the UK Government could both say the same.

The time has come for us to take control of our destiny, take responsibility for our district and demonstrate leadership and innovation as we strive to hit net zero and limit the most catastrophic effects of climate change.

“The UK’s first 40°C day, in summer 2022, was the clearest indication that climate change has arrived in this country. Last year’s record breaking temperatures brought unprecedented heat-related deaths, wildfire incidents and significant infrastructure disruption. The impacts of climate change will intensify over coming decades, leaving the UK vulnerable without better resilience planning and preparation.” - CCC****** March 2023

*https://www.local.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/ARUP-Climate-Emergency-What-Next.pdf
**Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
***Local Government Association
****https://cape.mysociety.org/councils/
*****https://climateemergencydeclaration.org
******Climate Change Committee