What do Extinction Rebellion, the Guardian’s style guide and over 200 local councils have in common? All have declared a ‘climate emergency’. Yet while these councils are keen to talk up the consequences on our planet of failing to act, are they actually practicing what they preach?
The decision of some councils to purchase cars for their own employees’ use, as revealed in a series of Freedom of Information requests I made, suggests they are not.
Councillors from Durham County Council declared a ‘climate emergency’ in February and the ‘County Durham environment partnership’, which the council is a member of, says getting more people to walk, use the bus or cycle is vital in the fight for the planet. It points out that 23 per cent of emissions come from the transport sector.
And yet the council leased 34 petrol and seven diesel cars for staff in 2018-2019.
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