A council has rejected calls to scrap its climate emergency pledge after the policy was described as “virtue signalling”.
Darlington Borough Council has set a target to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2040 but the plan was recently criticised by the local Reform UK chair.
Michael Walker, who attended a council meeting as a member of the public, called for the local authority to end its climate targets and use the money to “help residents”.
The Labour-led council’s cabinet member for economy Chris McEwan said the commitment would not be scrapped as it offered benefits such as energy resilience and dealing with fuel poverty.