"Deeply irresponsible": MP condemns Suffolk County Council's climate U-turn as firefighters battle wildfires.

"Deeply irresponsible": MP condemns Suffolk County Council's climate U-turn as firefighters battle wildfires.

Adrian Ramsay, Green MP for Waveney Valley, has warned that Suffolk County Council's move to rescind its Climate and Nature Emergency Declaration comes at exactly the wrong moment, as firefighters battle a surge in wildfires and extreme heat incidents across the country.

Speaking outside Endeavour House in Ipswich, where the County Council is this afternoon debating a motion from the new Reform-led administration to rescind the declaration first made in 2019, Adrian was joined by Richard from the Suffolk Fire Brigades Union, who set out the reality frontline crews are facing.

Richard said the Fire Brigades Union was currently responding to 14 wildfires declared nationwide, with a rising number of field and open fires across Suffolk. Crews are tackling these fires in full protective kit. He said flooding incidents were also increasing year on year, and that fire services are under-resourced and underfunded to meet the scale of the challenge, calling for an uplift in funding to properly protect the public.

Mr Ramsay had earlier written to Council Leader Cllr Hadwen, warning that undeclaring a climate emergency would not remove the threats of flooding or extreme heat that Suffolk residents face and would not save the council money. His letter noted that public sector organisations have worked together to deliver the Suffolk Climate Emergency Plan since 2021, with co-benefits including warmer, more affordable homes, improved air quality and health, and job creation. He warned that rescinding the declaration sends the wrong message when cross-party cooperation on these issues is needed more than ever.

Commenting today, Adrian Ramsay MP said:

"Suffolk County Council's Climate and Nature Emergency Declaration in 2019 was crucial in helping establish the UK's commitments on climate and nature. We should be stepping up that action now, not rolling it back, and we're seeing exactly why with the extreme heat we're experiencing.

"I've heard directly from firefighters on the front line of this crisis, dealing with wildfires and flooding that are becoming more frequent, without the resources they need to keep up. Whether it's our fire services, our food security, our water security, our transport, schools or hospitals, we are all feeling the impact of extreme heat right now, and it will only get worse if this is left unchecked.

"It's deeply irresponsible of Reform-led councils, like the one here in Suffolk, to be taking backward steps when we should be taking forward ones. I'm calling on the Government to urgently step up action on preparedness for extreme heat, on nature security, and on cutting emissions, and I'm calling on this council to reverse course."

ENDS

Notes to editors

In his letter to Cllr Hadwen, Leader of Suffolk County Council, Adrian Ramsay made the following points:

• Undeclaring a Climate Emergency does not remove the threats of flooding or extreme heat that residents will still face, and will not, on its own, save the council money.

• The council must use its powers to safeguard residents affected by extreme heat and other increasingly common extreme weather.

• Understanding that this is an emergency affecting food production and economic markets, as well as the environment, is crucial to making decisions that help Suffolk residents live well in the years ahead.

• Public sector organisations have worked together to deliver the Suffolk Climate Emergency Plan since 2021, with co-benefits including warmer, more affordable homes, improved air quality and health, and job creation.

• Declaring a Climate Emergency is a call to focus on activity that benefits residents now and in future as the climate changes. Projects that don't improve safety and prosperity for Suffolk residents would not be compatible with the declaration in the first place, so rescinding it will not deliver savings or efficiencies.

• Rescinding the declaration sends the wrong message when cross-party cooperation on these issues is vital and has, rightly, existed until now.