WHERE IS YOUR PROMISED STRATEGY AND ACTION PLAN? AN OPEN LETTER TO DORSET COUNCIL

As we approach the anniversary of Dorset Council declaring a climate and ecological emergency on 16 May 2019, Extinction Rebellion Dorset have written to them asking where their promised strategy and action plan are.

The letter was sent on 15 April 2020 to Cllr Ray Bryan, who chairs their Climate and Ecological Emergency Executive Advisory Panel, and all the Councillors who sit on the panel. 

So far no reply has been received from Cllr Ray Bryan.

Despite repeatedly acknowledging the seriousness of the emergency the Council has still failed to produce any sort of strategy or action plan. 

         Cllr Ray Bryan (centre) views the vote on 16 May 2019 when Dorset Council declared a climate emergency.

In his report to the full council on 21 November 2019 Cllr Spencer Flower, Council Leader, said “Work to mitigate climate change continued to progress, with Cllr Ray Bryan leading the Climate Change Executive Advisory Panel and providing verbal updates at each Cabinet meeting. Sixty officers were involved in supporting the Panel and regular updates were available online. These would increase now that the various Task and Finish groups had been set-up and work gathered pace. The climate emergency declaration was being treated with the urgency and transparency it deserved and demonstrated a full commitment by the Council to play its part”.

In the new Dorset Corporate Plan, agreed on 18 February 2020, the Council made the Climate and Ecological Emergency a cross cutting priority for all its work. In the introduction Cllr Flower said “It is clear that the climate and ecological emergency must inform the council’s decisions and actions for the foreseeable future. A climate and ecological change strategy and action plan is currently being developed. It will make a significant change in our approach and will require a shared commitment and ongoing dialogue with you, our residents and partners”.

Julie-Ann Booker, from Extinction Rebellion comments that “Even three weeks ago in her message on the first anniversary of the new Unitary Authority Cllr Pauline Batstone, Dorset Council Chair, in reference to the current pandemic, said that “We will get through this … and also … address the challenges of climate change which was, and still is, the most pressing underpinning part of our wider agenda”.  But to date no strategy or action plan to do this, or even a clear process or timetable for its publication, has been made by the Council”.

Julie-Ann added, “Over the last year Dorset Council have outwardly expressed a political desire to treat this emergency with the absolute urgency needed, but to date there has been no actual outcome shown in terms of their leadership to get things done”.

Extinction Rebellion made a submission back in October for the Dorset Climate Ideas consultation. Caz Dennett did a presentation at the Climate Ideas Inquiry Day on 4th March. In the presentation they outlined Five Ways To Tell the Truth about the climate and ecological emergency and the benefits of doing so.

Reflecting on the current situation and the benefits of telling the truth Caz Dennett said, “The pandemic has clearly demonstrated that when we all come together we can achieve what is necessary to address a crisis. When people are told the truth and understand the consequences, any change is possible no matter how difficult or drastic. People are ready to make changes, and have demonstrated that they are willing to do so when the reasons and benefits are made clear.”

In their open letter Extinction Rebellion said “We all have extraordinary additional challenges to deal with at present, however the climate and ecological crisis remains. The threat of devastating and irreversible climate change becomes ever more likely, and the destruction of the natural world worsens as the 6^th mass extinction continues to unfold.

It is now almost a year since Dorset Council declared a Climate (and subsequently Ecological) Emergency, but there is still no strategy and action plan to address the crisis.  This is in stark contrast to the speed with which sweeping measures have recently been taken nationally and locally to address the COVID-19 pandemic.  

We are writing this formal open letter to ask that the anniversary of the Climate and Ecological Emergency declaration is marked by the publication of a Strategy and Action Plan for Dorset that is vital to address the environmental crisis”.