Extinction Rebellion to hold ‘funeral’ today

Extinction Rebellion (XR) will be carrying a coffin in Shrewsbury on Thursday (February 27) to highlight Shropshire Council’s decision ‘to kill off its climate emergency declaration’.

The ‘funeral for the future’ will take place at 9am prior to a full council meeting taking place at The Guildhall.

It centre’s on the controversial North West Relief Road (NWRR) and how much carbon emissions the project will generate.

Estimates now reveal that the scheme will create 55,904 tonnes of carbon – considerably more than the previous figure of 26,711 tonnes that was provided in the approved 2021 planning application.

Shropshire Council declared a climate emergency in May 2019 and committed to be carbon-neutral by 2030. However, the new figures mean that the authority now won’t be able to offset the carbon produced by the NWRR until 2050. Despite this, the council’s Northern Planning Committee signed off the huge increase last month.

“We are now halfway to 2030 and climate scientists’ warnings are more stark than ever, while storms, wildfires, droughts and flooding are devastating communities worldwide,” said Jo Blackman, from XR Shrewsbury.

“Meanwhile Shropshire Council is busy delaying and diluting its climate action, ripping up its promises and betraying local people, future generations and the Global South.

“Here in Shropshire, we’re already seeing the effects of the failure to tackle the crisis – from flooding to crop failure. The council is failing each and every one of us by breaking all its climate promises, not least of all the young people of Shropshire who are being left with a ruined future.

“It is very concerning that the council has now abandoned its climate emergency declaration – which was voted on by full council in May 2019 – without any input from councillors. That is not democratic at all.

“We cannot stand by and let this happen – we need as many people as possible to show our outrage at this, by gathering in peaceful but heartfelt protest.”

Climate Emergency UK, an independent organisation which tracks local government’s progress on climate action, has produced scorecards for each council in the UK. Shropshire’s climate score for 2023 comes in at 33%, with a very low score of 2% for action on transport.

Sal Mager, UNISON’s environment officer on Shropshire Council, said: “I am outraged that Shropshire Council is so unashamedly sweeping aside its commitment to take the steps needed to deal with the critical situation we find ourselves in.

“By backtracking on their commitments in this way, our council isn’t just passively watching the climate crisis unfold, it is actively contributing to it.

“Residents who have seen their homes and businesses flooded out should join the dots and recognise the council’s failure to protect us.”

A Shropshire Council spokesperson said: “Council meetings are open to the public and the public can attend meetings but not protest inside the council chamber to ensure that the business of the council can continue uninterrupted. This has not changed in the move of meetings from Shirehall to Guildhall.”