Climate warning – communities will pay the price of inaction

Dudley councillors have been told communities will pay the price if the authority ignores warnings on climate change.

The blunt message came during a debate at an extraordinary council meeting to consider a motion from Cllr Ryan Priest calling for action in the aftermath of wildfires which destroyed Stourbridge homes during the summer.

Cllr Priest’s proposal said the council should treat the incident as a turning point for how it builds resilience to extreme weather caused by global warming.

Cllr Cathy Bayton said: “This must not get pushed down the council’s agenda again, this motion creates a new opportunity to open up a new focus on the council’s climate change action plan and ensure resources and funds are not directed elsewhere.

“If that happens again all our communities will pay the price.”

The motion, which was accepted unanimously at the meeting on November 2, calls for a wide-range of measures including the establishment of a cross-party group to monitor the council’s progress against its Climate Action Plan.

The council will also identify areas of council-owned land at greatest risk from wildfires and take measures to reduce the potential for fires including a ban on smoking and the use of disposable barbecues and other open-flame cooking devices in public parks.

Cllr Priest took a global view on the crisis saying while the authority can do little to stop the climate crisis, it could do something to ease the symptoms.

He also had a message for politicians concerned about migration who campaign to stop the boats.

Cllr Priest said: “Just shy of a billion people live on the equator, if current trends continue, in our lifetime there will be parts of the year where temperatures are too high to sustain human life.

“When the place you are born becomes too dangerous for your children you look for somewhere safer.

“The migration pressures we agree about today are a drop in the ocean with what comes with inaction on the climate emergency.”

By Martyn Smith | Local Democracy Reporting Service