At last night’s full council meeting, Cllr Ian Ward told members that he was not a climate change denier, but that, “You have not been told the truth. We have been duped”.
His words came during a motion put forward by Cllr Joe Lever (Alliance/Green), which called upon the council to support the Government’s Climate and Ecological Emergency (CEE) Bill.
Pitcher: I’m going to be the one
Cllr Daryll Pitcher (Vectis Party) began his contribution to the debate by saying,
“I’m going to be the one!
“If we are to support the CEE Bill we must look at the detail rather than admire the front cover to the document.”
He said he believed the document was, “little more than hard-socialism via the back door”, adding that it was just, “self appointed people dictating the economic future”.
Quigley: Doesn’t go far enough
Cllr Richard Quigley (Lab) said he thought the Government would be surprised to be called hard socialists. He offered his full support to Cllr Lever’s motion, and adding,
“If you need any reason to support it, just listen to what Daryll [Pitcher] has just said.”
He added that he thinks the council should be looking at CO2 reduction rather than net zero.
Ward: “You were not told the truth, you have been duped”
Cllr Ian Ward (Con) told Cllr Pitcher.
“Daryll you are not alone.”
He went on to explain to members how, many years ago, he read an article about climate change, that included an interesting fact.
“It said that mankind only produces .3 per cent of CO2 per year.”
Cllr Ward explained that he carried on doing investigations into climate change, adding that many eminent scientists say that climate change is inevitable, “no matter what you do it is going to happen”.
Ward: Is little old Isle of Wight is going to change the world?
Cllr Ward said he takes his lead from “these scientists who are not heard”.
“You were not told the truth, you have been duped.
“So we’re talking about COP22 and we’re going to do this and we’re going to do that, and the Chinese have said, ‘no we’re not’ and the Americans have said, ‘oh no we’re not’, and the Indians have said, ‘oh no we’re not’, so is little old Isle of Wight is going to change the world? Is England even going to change the world? No they are not.
“I would much rather see effort put into combatting the consequences of climate change, it’s going to happen. You get flooding, are we taking measures to defend ourselves against that flooding? Things like that.
“I’m not a climate change denier, but saying let’s be prepared for it. Not trying to think that little old mankind is going to change the universe.”
Garratt: “Little places can achieve big changes when done together”
Cllr Andrew Garratt (LibDem) said that research showed the campaign to tackle CFCs had a significant effect on reducing the otherwise climate change. He told members,
“Having read the CEE Bill I was impressed with the way it has been constructed by people sensibly talking together to come up with something that can direct the way in which Government can attack the real and pressing crisis that we face.
“It’s a pathway to achieving that strategy. Mitigations to climate change – climate change that has been driven by humankind’s emissions of gases, not just CO2, but also methane and other gases are contributing.
“A study found that by tackling CFCs it had a significant effect on reducing the otherwise climate change that would have resulted.
“Little places can achieve big changes when done together.”
Love: “We are one species among many on this planet”
Cllr Karl Love (Alliance) said he was confused by Cllr Ward’s mixed messages.
“I will be supporting this because it’s really important for our Island Plan, and out biosphere and the future of people who live on the Island.
“All these small things that we do add up to something greater and if we can get the rest of the world to make small changes then we’ve made a difference.
“The gobbledygook I hear from Cllr Pitcher does not persuade me that I should vote as he would prefer. I think it will help shape how we build in the future and I think it’s important to remember that we are one species among many on this planet. We are doing this not just for our children tomorrow, we are doing it for the whole planet.”
Lilley: An evolution of travel that we have for our Green Island
Cllr Michael Lilley (Alliance) said it seemed like a long time ago that, with Cllr Hastings, he worked to get IWC support for the climate emergency, which succeeded.
He added that in 2019 Isle of Wight council took second place with Friends of the Earth for tackling climate change.
He added,
“It’s fantastic that last week, with the work of Cllr Bacon, that we got through our Climate Strategy. I do think there needs to be credit to Cllr Hastings in getting a regular environmental forum with officers.
“This is just an evolution of travel that we have for our Green Island – it’s important what we do is part of a national agenda. It is in direction that we are travelling, and leading on.”
Jones-Evans: We can all play our part
Cllr Julie Jones-Evans added her support for the motion, saying she’d like to see the principles adopted through town, parish and community councils, if they are able to.
She went on to explain how on the little section of land opposite Lidl a haven for flora and fauna and interesting invertebrates had been created adding that now some scarce orchids had also appeared. She suggested more of these small projects are carried out, reminding members that “we can all play our part”.
Hastings:
Cllr Steve Hastings (Con), who was instrumental in developing the motion which led to the council declaring a climate emergency, also worked with officers to put together the Climate and Environment Strategy, which Cllr Bacon has continued with since the election.
He pointed out another bill that’s with Parliament, the Environmental Bill, which he highly recommend reading.
He gave his support in principle, but said that he’d be abstaining as, “we are already doing this as a Government and as a council.”
When summing up Cllr Lever said that over 99 per cent of climate scientists would not agree with some of what had been said during the meeting.
Motion passed
The motion was passed with 21 voting in favour, five against and six abstaining. There was a named vote, details to follow.
You can read Cllr Lever’s motion in full at the bottom of the agenda paper.
Image: Annie Spratt under CC BY 2.0
