THE council has hit back at a survey that claims that it is the worst performing authority in the North when it comes to tackling climate change.
Data from Climate Emergency UK compiled their survey by applying criteria assessing actions that local authorities have control over with respect to their impact on carbon emissions and biodiversity loss. Other factors such as transport and planning are also taken into account before calculating an average score with 32 per cent or above determining if a Council is on track in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Out of the North’s 11 Councils, only Belfast City Council went above that average with 43 per cent. Fermanagh & Omagh District Council, however, scored the lowest score with 11 per cent.
A spokeswoman for the Council insisted that the survey did not paint to full picture in regard to the work they are doing to reduce emissions.
She said: “Fermanagh and Omagh District Council was one of the first councils to declare a climate emergency in 2019 and has been at the forefront of work to tackle this crisis over the last four years.
“The Council’s ‘Climate Change and Sustainable Development Strategy’ back in 2020, sets out the Council’s ambition for a net zero District by 2042 and publications such as the Climate Action Plan, published in 2021, and a Biodiversity Strategy published in 2022, provide a roadmap to deliver that ambitious goal.
“Progress on the implementation of the various strategies and actions plans is reported to the Council’s Environmental Services Committee, with the most recent report considered in October 2023.
“That report highlighted progress across each of the six themes in the Strategy and against each of the 41 high level actions.
“The score attributed to the Council by Climate Emergency UK is not reflective of the work undertaken by Council in this regard.”
Climate Emergency UK defended both their methodology and their results.
Co-Director, Annie Pickering said: “These scorecards are an essential tool for councils to show them what is possible for local climate action and to encourage them to go further, to mitigate and adapt to the climate and ecological emergencies we are facing.”
Pickering added that local authorities in other devolved nations of the UK, Scotland and Wales, performed significantly better than the North, showing what was possible when governments gave their own councils backing to fight climate change.
She continued: “This demonstrates that when a national government provides greater support, funding and power to local authorities, the climate action of every local authority in that nation increases.”
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