Cannock Chase council bosses revise climate change target over £4.7bn cost
Cannock Chase councillors have agreed to alter a climate change target after learning it would cost £4.7bn to make the entire district carbon neutral by 2030.
But one member said the changes, which mean the 2030 target will instead become an organisational one only, show a lack of ambition.
Cannock Chase Council pledged in 2019 to work towards making Cannock Chase carbon neutral by 2030 as part of its declaration of climate emergency – one of the most ambitious targets set in the county. But a costed action plan of the measures needed to achieve this goal has revealed that it would cost around £4.7bn in capital investment to make the entire district carbon neutral by 2030, with £21m needed to do the groundwork.
The revised target was considered at a full council meeting. It divided opinion amongst members across the chamber.
Green Party member Andrea Muckley said: “I became a councillor in May 2019 and in July 2019 this motion was passed. I cannot tell you how delighted I was that we were going to strive towards 2030, it was absolutely incredible.
