Mayor Ros Jones issues environment warning as council looks to declare a 'climate emergency'

In a speech to full council today (Thursday, June 6), the mayor called on Doncaster to play its part in stopping global warming and said how the borough responds to these challenges 'matters for future generations'.

"The UK’s contribution to stopping global warming provides a stark reminder that the actions we take now are not only part of a yearly cycle or a four year political term but of a much bigger vision for our world, country and borough and what we do now matters for future generations,” she said. 

The mayor said the council would be working to be carbon neutral but did not give a target date. 

Mayor Jones added the council will have 'conversations over the summer months' with young people, communities, businesses, voluntary organisations to inform them on the 'long term plans for the borough'.

The move follows over 70 councils across the UK to pass motion on recognising a climate emergency, including Sheffield, York, Bristol, Manchester, Oxford and several London boroughs.

The mayor paid tribute to Doncaster and its pioneering past and its resilience citing the construction of the Flying Scotsman and Mallard trains along with coming together to overcome devastating floods in 2007.

She said the borough had overcome 'any challenge thrown at us'.

Addressing the council, Mayor Jones said: "The challenges we face are here for the long term and the latest report produced by the committee on climate change.

“The UK’s contribution to stopping global warming provides a stark reminder that the actions we take now are not only part of a yearly cycle or a four year political term but of a much bigger vision for our world, country and borough; what we do now matters for future generations.

"There are no better illustration of how much traction this issue is getting than the recent climate change protests that have been initiated, mobilised and led by young people themselves.

“The government recently agreed with a Labour party motion to declare a climate change emergency and the intergovernmental report on biodiversity published last month highlighted that already unprecedented species extinction rates were accelerating.

"Responding to the challenge of climate change is not just about reducing emissions it is about our ambitions for the type of borough we want to see in the future, how we hold and protect and enhance the natural environment for future generations, the type of economy that is innovative and inclusive built on clean growth and decent wages, the type of health and care system that is sustainable and responsive to future demands that will be placed upon it.

“Everyone who cares about the future of our borough will have an opportunity to have their say and I’m proposing to bring a climate emergency motion to full council in September, capturing the early feedback from Doncaster Talks, about what more we can do to work towards becoming carbon neutral."