Global warming action group presses for Shrewsbury Town Council to declare a Climate Emergency

Members of the local arm of a global warming action group are urging Shrewsbury Town Council to pass a motion calling for the declaration of a climate emergency.

eXtinction Rebellion Shrewsbury is urging Shrewsbury Town Council to follow in the pioneering footsteps of almost 50 Parish, Town & Principal Councils from across the UK.

They are hoping Shrewsbury Town Council may join them in calling for the declaration of a climate emergency to take immediate steps to reduce carbon emissions.

The motion will be presented to Shrewsbury Town Council sitting in the Guildhall on Monday 25 March at around 6pm.

The surge in interest from local Councils has led to a wave of Council motions across the country declaring climate emergencies. This began shortly after the landmark United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report published last October.

eXtinction Rebellion was created at the same time, with their mission of creating a world that is fit for future generations - a world that is flourishing, hopeful and inclusive. eXtinction Rebellion is calling for central Government to legislate and fund policies to fix human induced climate change.

eXtinction Rebellion Shrewsbury, who have been working closely with other local environmental groups and parties of all political colours, have championed the motion.

The action follows on from their Love Your Planet March which took place in February when more than 200 people marched from Darwin’s statue to the Market Square.

Last Friday a group of young people from Shrewsbury also took part in the town’s first School Strike for Climate.

Call for public to show support

Richard Davies MBE, a member of Shrewsbury’s eXtinction Rebellion group, is calling for people to show that they care about the future of all life on earth.

Richard said: “It would be great for as many as possible to show their support on Monday, to show that the public want to see serious political action on this issue. Just turn up outside the Guildhall at Frankwell Quay at 5.30pm.

We hope to make the event positive and hopeful. The Clarion Choir will be singing followed by a few short speeches. At 6pm participants will move to the Town Council Chamber to hear the debate on the Climate Emergency motion.”

The UN’s IPCC recently stated that humankind may have only 12 years to take ‘urgent & unprecedented’ action to keep the earth’s temperature rise to a hopefully safe maximum of 1.5 degrees centigrade.

The much-loved broadcaster & natural historian David Attenborough has been especially vocal about human induced climate change saying: “If we don’t take action, the collapse of our civilisations and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizon.”

Richard also called for the people of Shrewsbury to write to their Town Councillor expressing their support for the Climate Emergency Resolution ahead of Monday’s vote.