West Somerset’s new council has become the latest local authority to declare a climate emergency.

Somerset West and Taunton Council took the decision last Thursday evening, a day after Somerset County Council did, as reported in last week’s Free Press.

The shadow new council, which will officially replace West Somerset and Taunton Deane Borough Councils, met in Shire Hall and discussed a motion on climate change.

Several members of the public spoke on the cross-party motion to declare the emergency, including seome who had spoken at the county council meeting the previous day.

Dr Ian Gauntlett referred to the schoolchildren who protested on February 15, saying: “Somerset as a county is uniquely vulnerable to climate change, as you know – there’s been considerable evidence of that recently.

“The children get it – they realise there is no time to delay, to obfuscate or to procrastinate. Do not fail the next generation, or else there will be no future generations.”

Mark Raby,said: “In 2030, when my three-year-old daughter Luna is 15 and her little sister Anelli is 11, what will you be able to tell them that you a a councillor did about it?”

He went on to provide a list of suggestions which the council could implement to tackle climate change, including reducing Council Tax for homes with green energy providers, an electric car scheme for on-street parking, and insisting all new offices being built include cycle parking and showers.

Cllr David Mansell from Wiveliscombe, who proposed the climate emergency motion, said: “We’ve known about the science of climate change for a long time, and the science has got firmer and firmer as we’ve gone on.

“The environment is bigger than one issue and bigger than any political party. Whatever the result in May, this motion is a step in the right direction.”

The motion originally proposed that the council commit £75,000 towards “early projects” on this matter, as well as covering the cost of officer time.

But this was amended to £25,000 on the basis that more money could be bid for in future depending on the outcome of the initial work.

Council leader Cllr John Williams said: “It is up to members to prioritise where that funding goes, and the idea is the amount of money in the motion is sufficient to kick-start the work and produce a case for why more money is needed, and then more will be found.”