Moray Council gives 2030 carbon neutral pledge

MORAY Council has unanimously passed a motion to become carbon neutral by the year 2030.

As more than 60 environmental activists demonstrated outside the council offices in Elgin High Street, the issue was discussed inside the debating chamber.

Proposing the motion, cllr Lousie Laing (Speyside Glenlivet/ SNP) said: "When I was at school we were taught that due to greenhouse gases we would be facing extreme weather events in the distant future.

"That future has arrived a lot sooner than we thought and whether we like it or not, or can afford it or not, we need to make changes now.

"If you ask someone about the weather last year you will probably hear that it was lovely ... we had a great summer ... I spent hours in my garden.

"But the reality is that farmers in Northern Scotland had to buy in additional hay as winter stocks ran out.

"This year in Moray we have seen the largest wildfire in UK. It’s the first of its kind here with the type of, and behaviour in flames, usually only found in the Mediterranean."

The motion was seconded by Cllr David Bremner (Fochabers Lhanbryde/ SNP) said: "We are on the brink of a climate and ecological catastrophe.

"We will be judged by our children and those come after us on the actions that we take to try to ensure we leave them a habitable planet.

"No change is no longer an option.

"Change is coming whether we like it or not."

Moray has now joined other local authorities including Glasgow City Council and Edinburgh City Council, in their pledge on carbon.

Several of the activists came into the chamber to listen to the debate.

Moray Council's convenor Shona Morrison thanked them and their colleagues outside for their efforts.

She said: "It's lovely to see this amount of community participation.

"As a council we're already taking steps to lower our carbon footprint.

"Just this month we launched an electric bus serving rural communities in Moray, while cutting emissions by up to 70 per cent.

"We must look beyond this though, take on views from the community, and continue to be proactive in introducing new and innovative ways to meet our target of becoming carbon neutral by 2030."

Finally, cllr Clare Feaver (Forres/ Conservative) read out a vote of thanks in Swedish – the language of 16-year-old schoolgirl environmentalist Greta Thunberg who has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and featured on the cover of Time magazine.