Nigel Farage has urged Reform UK-led councils to ditch climate emergency targets amid concerns they are “massive diversions of time”. [emphasis, links added]
The Clacton MP has said it is not up to councils to deal with “global issues” and it would not make a difference if the plans were scrapped.
After the House of Commons agreed on a motion tabled by then Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for Parliament to declare a climate emergency, local authorities pledged to decarbonize council facilities.
Between May 2019 and 2023, eight in 10 local authorities across Britain declared so-called climate emergencies.
Out of the 10 councils where Reform gained control at this year’s local elections, the party inherited seven climate emergency policies.
Net Zero Madness
I’ve just asked Ed Miliband a really simple question.
Again he could not answer.
He either doesn’t know or he doesn’t want you to know. pic.twitter.com/X9D19UbisL
— Lee Anderson MP (@LeeAndersonMP_) July 14, 2025
Now, Farage has called on councils to scrap their net-zero policies, after he said in May that staff working on climate change initiatives should be “seeking alternative careers”.
Farage told The Telegraph:
“They need to be scrapped. It’s not the job of county councils to deal with global issues, and it wouldn’t make any difference at all if they were scrapped.
“It costs money, and they are a massive diversion of time. It’s virtue-signalling.”
Climate Emergency UK spokesman Isaac Beevor said some councils are “driving forward local climate action,” yet others are falling short.
He said: “There are councils which continue to lag behind, taking the minimum action possible.”
In May, Reform UK decided to scrap Durham County Council’s climate change and equality portfolios after the Farage-led party took control of the local authority.
Any references to “climate change” and “equality and inclusion” were removed and replaced.
The “neighbourhoods and climate change” portfolio was changed to “neighbourhoods and environment”, while “equality and inclusion” was changed to “stronger communities and belonging”.
A recent poll has predicted that Reform UK could take 223 seats from Labour at the next General Election.
Read rest at GBNews
