Oxford Declares a Climate Emergency

Image © Adrian Arbib

At a packed meeting of Full Council this evening, Oxford City Council unanimously backed a Green Party motion declaring a ‘climate emergency’ in the City. The motion was proposed by Green Cllr Craig Simmons and seconded by Green Cllr Dick Wolff.

Cllr Craig Simmons, said in introducing the motion; 

“The climate crisis is an emergency that requires actions at all levels of government; local, regional and national. What the climate scientists tell us is that we need is to act quickly to reduce our carbon emissions. We need to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030. This is an extremely challenging – but achievable – goal. But this motion is not something this Council should vote for lightly. We have a duty to ourselves, our residents and businesses and to the wider world to not only declare a Climate Emergency but to deliver real change. The hard work starts here.”