Surrey County Council (SCC) have launched their strategy for tackling the climate emergency in the county after it was agreed at a council meeting Wednesday (April 29).

SCC joined many other councils across the UK and the UK parliament in declaring a climate emergency situation in July 2019.

Yesterday councillors agreed to a "collective approach" for how the county can get to net zero carbon emissions by 2050 as per the declaration's stated goals.

"We must all do our part in the fight against climate change and the scale of our ambitions must reflect the scale of the challenge," SCC Leader Tim Oliver said.

"But for real change and definitive action to meet our targets, we need to work in a coordinated national effort with support and leadership from the government.

"Our response will not only define our generation but shape and make way for a new generation who will build on the steps we take today.

"Together, we can ensure Surrey is cleaner, greener and more resilient, now and into the future," he added.

The strategy includes a number of interesting policy proposals to drastically reduce carbon emissions in the county.

They are broken down into eight key sectors; Organisation Emissions, Transport and Air Quality, Energy Generation, Housing and Planning, Buildings and Infrastructure, Waste, Resources and Circular Economy, Land Use and Food Systems, Industry and Economy.

It was worked up after consultation with researchers at Leeds University, including Professor Andy Gouldson.

"Evidence clearly shows that climate action can help Surrey to tackle congestion, improve air quality, enhance the health and wellbeing of residents, stimulate employment, provide better homes and tackle inequality.

"Instead of thinking why would we act, Surrey should be thinking why wouldn’t we," Gouldson said.

Transport and Housing are the two highest priority areas, to address, accounting for 46 per cent (transport) and 28 per cent (housing) of total emissions in Surrey individually.

The role of land and green infrastructure was meanwhile been identified in the strategy as having significant potential to strengthen resilience to and help tackle climate change, as well as improve air quality.

SCC announced a bold tree-planting tree initiative in this regard:

"SCC has committed to facilitate planting 1.2 million trees county-wide and Surrey’s New Tree Strategy, also approved today, will provide a framework to help deliver on this," a spokesperson said.

SCC have come under criticism from environmental groups in the county that their target of carbon neutrality for 2050 is not ambitious enough in the face of the urgency presented by the climate crisis.

Climate activists have also criticised SCC for not doing more to impede the extraction of fossil fuels in the county at sites like Horse Hill near Horley, where oil is being extracted.

Green Party Councillor Jonathan Essex described SCC's latest budget as "too little too late to deal with the climate emergency which has to be a guided principle for everything we do as a local authority".