Many residents were concerned by the news that Tandridge District Council had the lowest scoring Council Climate Action Scorecard in Surrey.
This is a scorecard created by Climate Emergency UK which measures all councils' decisions and actions taken to reach net zero. If you're interested in reading more about the methodology, click here.
I raised a question to the Leader of Tandridge District Council, Cllr Catherine Sayer, about this at the December 2023 Full Council and asked the following:
"This Council was ranked the lowest out of all of the Boroughs and Districts in Surrey for taking action to tackle climate change.
It scored a total of 20% which is 9 points lower than Runnymede and Guildford, the next lowest districts in Surrey, and the only one in Surrey below the average score for all boroughs in the UK.
As the generation who will have to live and deal with the consequences of climate change, it is important to many young people, that their council is fully transparent about how they are addressing climate change and what steps are being taken to reach net zero.
Will this Council agree to include a net zero target and make tackling climate change one of its main priorities in the next Strategic Plan from 2024/25?"
Cllr Sayer responded by saying that the scorecard was completed in August 2023, before the Council was able to reflect work being done on climate change mitigation.
This work includes switching the council's electricity supply to a green tariff, increasing the percentage of household waste recycled by 7%, delivering new housing with biodiversity net gain and reducing emissions from council-owned properties such as Quadrant House in Caterham and the Council Offices in Oxted.
Cllr Sayer also said that she was "pretty confident" that climate change mitigation will be an objective in the next Corporate Plan, but also said she was not in a position to confirm for certain as it's not been agreed by all stakeholders as of yet.
Following the passing of a climate emergency declaration by Tandridge District Council in 2020, I believe there is more that can be done by the Council to further mitigate climate change. This includes publishing a climate risk register, reporting greenhouse gas emissions transparently, appointing council climate champions and providing Council Committee Chairs with climate awareness training.
However, what can be celebrated is the progress being made to address climate change by the Council, particularly around recycling rates, and as my political party's Lead Spokesperson on the Community Services Committee of the Council, I will continue to work cross-party to ensure that this positive trend continues.
As a member of the generation who will be most impacted by climate change, my focus is on making sure that we can mitigate it and I will continue to work with fellow Councillors in Tandridge over delivering on this priority.
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