Tuesday 21st March, 2023
Some Colchester residents at the City Council Environment and Sustainability Panel meeting on Tuesday evening were in denial about the need for net zero carbon emissions.
The Have Your Say speakers seemed to be promoting an agenda that excluded the benefits of environmental sustainability measures. In contrast the Panel showed positive moves towards making the borough more environmentally stable.
An exception to the Coalition of Deniers was Stuart Johnson of the Colchester Cycling Campaign. He praised the Council’s sustainable travel update and reminded the panel of their vision to transform Colchester.
He suggested that the Council takes radical action, such as no car access during school drop-off times, to promote more secure parking and install bike hangars in streets.
Rachel Matthews asked whether the Panel researched the environmental impacts of producing batteries. She also suggested that people boycott the electric vehicle industry.
The speaker said:
“We need to set an example. If everyone boycotts the electric vehicle industry then this stops. You should not be using batteries that support child labour.”
James O’Flynn inquired about the Panel’s influence on Essex Highways and and asked for calculations of the CO2 used in the electric vehicle fleet. He also called for a full consultation before “spending millions on electric bikes and lanes.”
Panel Chair Cllr Scordis responded by suggesting that he writes to ECC.
The Council Officer also responded:
“On the consultation, the 800 people we mentioned was through talking to people at public events. This isn’t the information ECC use for bike lanes. ECC will carry out their own consultations. Our information compliments theirs.
As for funding, the government is specific about what pots can be spent on. It can’t all be spent on potholes. We are trying to promote shared transport. By sharing there is less of an environmental impact.”
Cheryl Taylor expressed concerns about the dangers of electric vehicles and questioned if there was a plan in place if there was a fire at an electric charging point. She also requested compensation for businesses that have to close and an evacuation plan if a fleet vehicle caught fire.
She also claimed:
“Any Officer or Councillor that recommends electric vehicles could be held personally liable. Unless you can guarantee they are 100% safe, we request you don’t go ahead with electric vehicles.”
It wasn’t explained who the we was that she apparently represents.
Ian Drew’s question to the Panel asked if the Chair knew climate change wasn’t true, would the Council still go ahead with the Strategic Plan for achieving net zero carbon emissions?
Mr Drew spoke of “a global plan of top-down control.” He claimed this has nothing to do with being green:
“Net zero will mean no flying or shipping out of the UK. We would literally be imprisoned on our island. This is what top down global control is all about. It has been planned since the 1970’s. This has got nothing to do with being green.
Traffic charging is an excuse to keep us at home. The propaganda has already stated. Not many people realise what is happening. Cameras are being installed. We will be charged if we exceed our carbon footprint. There is an endless supply of money to roll out this anarchy.”
The meeting was polite, if a little prickly. There wasn’t similar scenes of interruption by residents, as was the case at the previous Environment and Sustainability Panel meeting last month.
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