A call for a group to review Pembrokeshire County Council’s decision to declare a climate emergency some six years ago has been made, with Cllr Mike Stoddart labelling the declaration as “virtue signalling on stilts”

In May 2019, PCC declared a climate emergency following a notice of motion by Cllr Joshua Beynon calling on the authority to back the global consensus that climate change poses a risk to the well-being of future generations.

He had urged county councillors to back a motion to fight “truly, catastrophic” climate change, stating: “Every single human is responsible for taking action against climate change but public sector organisations such as the local authority should take responsibility and lead on action.

“As a coastal county we should be prepared for the worst and also be responsible and take bold, decisive action against climate change and do all we can to mitigate our impact on global emissions.”

He called on the council to commit to becoming a zero-carbon local authority by 2030.

One of those against the call was Cllr Mike Stoddart, who has previously said it was “virtue signalling on stilts” adding that he led a very green life with limited travel and growing his own vegetables.

“The idea that we can de-carbonise the economy by 2030 is for people with fairies in the garden,” he said.

Cllr Stoddart [known as Old Grumpy on his online blog] referred to low contribution from wind energy and expensive failed wave generation experiments that “ended up in the bottom of the sea.”

He added it was not possible to “de-carbonise the economy” without damage to the poorest in society.

At the May 8 meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council, a notice of motion by Cllr Stoddart called for the establishment of a working group to review the decision made by the council to declare a climate change emergency.

Cllr Stoddart’s motion said: “Given the turbulence on the global financial markets; the parlous state of the UK’s public finances; Pembrokeshire County Council’s projected funding gap; and the government’s softening of its policies on the switch to EV vehicles and heat pumps, this council establishes a seven person, politically balanced working group to review the authority’s decision to declare a climate emergency at its meeting on May 9, 2019.

“The working group will be asked to: (a) examine the effect of the emergency declaration on the level of council tax in Pembrokeshire and particularly the extent to which any such increases militate against the authority’s anti-poverty policies.

“(b) The cost of decarbonising the council’s housing stock and the effect this has had on the authority’s ability to finance the building of new housing.

“(c) The extent to which the council’s decarbonisation programme has contributed to a reduction of the risk of runaway global temperature increases, and (d) any other effects that the working group considers may have adversely impacted the wellbeing of the residents of Pembrokeshire.”

Members agreed Cllr Stoddart’s notice of motion be referred to the council’s corporate overview and scrutiny committee for further discussion.