\n The local authority\u2019s ambition to introduce energy-saving measures across the borough and become carbon neutral by 2040 has been emphatically reiterated by those in charge at Darlington Town Hall.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n Last October, the council\u2019s net zero ambition was criticised for allegedly virtue signalling and wasting money, while Conservative councillors have also urged council leaders to focus on other priority areas.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n Yet despite the criticism, cabinet members were told the local authority is on track to achieve its 2040 target after slashing its spending and introducing other green initiatives in recent years.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n Chris McEwan, cabinet member for economy, said: \u201cClimate change and the Nature Emergency remain important priorities, not pursued for their own sake, but because they also deliver efficiency and financial savings.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cCumulatively, nearly \u00a35 million has been saved over the past five years, demonstrating a clear economic benefit, and this has in part allowed us to deal with some of the historic cuts to our funding from previous governments.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cTo those that say: \u2018why are we focusing on this?\u2019 Why shouldn\u2019t it be a priority to reduce costs of us doing business so we can invest in the many other council priorities?\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Despite recent progress, councillors were told that carbon emissions increased in the past year, partly due to the opening of the new Hopetown railway museum and ongoing works at the Dolphin Centre.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n In July 2025, the council passed a motion declaring a nature recovery emergency, alongside the existing climate emergency.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n Councillor Matthew Snedker, leader of the Green Party, said the council\u2019s plan would make the borough a more attractive place to live and do business. \u201cThe nature recovery will also bolster our ability to do this,\u201d he added.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n A council plea to prioritise protecting and restoring green spaces and wildlife was approved in May 2025 despite being labelled \u201cwoke\u201d by political rivals.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n The council agreed to declare a Nature Restoration Emergency, meaning the area\u2019s depleted wildlife will receive extra protection through council considerations, proposals and decisions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The local authority\u2019s ambition to introduce energy-saving measures across the borough and become carbon neutral by 2040 has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":362485,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[1397,90,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-362484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-science","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=362484"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362484\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/362485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=362484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=362484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=362484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}