Council set to axe climate emergency declaration — SkimNews
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- Barnsley Council announced its intention to withdraw its 2019 climate emergency declaration, along with Zero40 (council operations net-zero by 2040) and Zero45 (borough net-zero by 2045) strategies.
- Council leader William Brown framed the move as prioritizing "practical priorities" over "ideological targets and costly political posturing," and declared "the war on woke is only just beginning."
- A review of all climate and net-zero activity is underway, with programmes lacking clear resident benefit, financial saving, or statutory requirement set to change or stop.
- A 2024 council report found the authority was not "on track" to reduce its carbon emissions — the political cover Brown cited for redirecting resources to frontline services.
- The UK remains legally obliged under the Climate Change Act to reach net zero nationally by 2050, separate from local authority declarations.
- An initial report on the council's climate activity review is due by the end of September.
- Reform-led councils including Wakefield, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Sunderland, South Tyneside and Walsall have all backed motions to rescind similar climate and biodiversity emergency pledges.
Why it matters: Barnsley is the latest in a string of Reform UK-led councils rescinding climate emergency declarations, despite the UK remaining legally bound to net zero by 2050 under the Climate Change Act. The council's own 2024 report already flagged it as off-track on carbon cuts — giving political cover for the withdrawal, but the local move does not affect the national legal duty.
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