At today’s KCC full council meeting, our Green Party county councillor, Martin Whybrow, set out why the county council must get serious about zero carbon and relayed his resultant 2021 wish-list. Here’s his speech:
“We all recognise the budget constraints and rising demand but if 2020 has taught us anything it is that we must prioritise how we can nurture, encourage and protect those local networks of charities and other agencies that have proved so vital in providing support this year in our communities. Some KCC members have had a pivotal role here and it is the thing I am most proud of in my time at KCC. We need to give those networks certainty over their funding, we need to reduce the complexity in dealing with KCC, and we need to see what additional support they need.
“And while it has been an awful year because of the pandemic, it has also been an awful year for the planet. The annual melting record was broken at both poles. A million species face extinction within decades.
“We have heard at length during today’s questions about planting trees and other initiatives, we have had our webinars and conferences, but we also need to now embed zero carbon into everything we do at KCC otherwise the zero carbon aspirations will remain just that. We have to urgently pivot in our decision-making and review our commitments in 2021.
“First, we should do a screeching u-turn on our support for the carbon guzzling, air polluting, habitat-destroying Lower Thames Crossing.
“We need to categorically oppose new and expanded airports everywhere, not just Gatwick because it means more planes will fly over Kent.
“We need to stop procrastinating and we need to divest from fossil fuels in the Kent Pension Fund and our own direct treasury investments. It makes absolute environmental, moral and financial sense. To not now do so would make a mockery of KCC’s supposed environmental credentials.
“We must end our support for a new train station that most people will need to drive to. The clues are in the size of the car park and in the name. A station called ‘anything Parkway’ is in the wrong place.
“We must not let down our residents by allowing a bus operator to start a new service in Kent using diesel buses. Based on the report on the Dover Fast-track service that came to the last Environment & Transport Cabinet Committee, residents who raised concerns about the vehicles in the public consultation seem to have been clearly misled – they were told the vehicles would be “Ultra Clean” when they will be nothing of the sort.
“We also need to revisit all of our capital projects and completely change what we prioritise.
“How many KCC projects via the South-East LEP over the years have been dedicated ones for walking, cycling or pubic transport? All future SE LEP and other transport-related capital projects should have walking, cycling and public transport as their primary focus.
“It has been an awful year for so many Kent residents, we now have the dreadful shooting ourselves in the foot that is Brexit, but we also have the chance after this unprecedented year to grasp the challenges that so urgently await us – we mustn’t miss the opportunity.”
In a subsequent item on KCC’s interim strategic plan, Martin spoke out again against the inclusion of the Lower Thames Crossing in that plan and called for a recorded vote, with all opposition members who voted plus the KCC Conservative party whip voting against the plan.
