Neath Port Talbot Council has declared a climate emergency. The motion, put forward by Green Party member Nathan Goldup-John was approved by members following a meeting on Wednesday, September 28. Councillors noted that residents had already experienced the effects of extreme weather through recent flooding and heatwaves.
They also heard how the impacts of climate change were being felt across the globe, with species of plants, animals and coral reefs becoming extinct in record numbers, as well as the threat of sea level rise caused by the melting of polar ice sheets.
A climate emergency is defined as a situation in which urgent action is needed to reduce climate change, to avoid potentially irreversible environmental damage resulting from it. The decision from Neath Port Talbot follows other councils in Wales who have also declared a climate emergency in recent years, such as Blaenau Gwent and Swansea, as well as the Welsh Government’s ambition for the public sector in Wales to be carbon neutral by 2030.
