CAMPAIGNERS Extinction Rebellion have called on Craven District Council and Skipton Town Council to act now in the fight against climate change.

Last month, three members of the Skipton and the Dales group attended a meeting of the town council when they suggested ways councillors could help stop climate change, and last week, five members presented their case to the full meeting of Craven District Council.

They told councillors the three demands of Extinction Rebellion were to tell the truth, to act now, and to go beyond politics, with Government led by a ‘citizens assembly’ representing climate and ecological justice.

They referred to a recent report by Friends of the Earth which gave Craven District Council a scoring of 44 per cent in a nationwide survey of climate-friendly authorities, and called on it to re-consider some of its practices, such as changing to a more ecologically aware bank, and to refit its buildings to run off renewable energy sources.

Members also called on the council to remove all single use plastic from its buildings, to push for all new homes to be carbon neutral, and to pedestrianise Skipton High Street, or to have ‘car free’ days.

They also called on all council-led events to be committed to reducing waste, and to stop mowing verges and parks where visibility was not an issue, to leave wildflowers, and to conserve natural habitats.

They also called on the council to work towards becoming carbon free by 2025 and not 2030.

Their meetings were full of people of all ages, all cared about the planet and the future of life on it, they said. “We are in a desperate situation, people want the council to act now, it is your duty to do so and we implore you to act.”

Council leader, Cllr Richard Foster, said the council had declared a climate emergency in the summer and was listening. He added the authority would look at who it banked with and would endeavour to do what it could within its limits.

Cllr Carl Lis, the council’s Greener Craven spokesman, said the Friends of the Earth report was flawed as it had used out of date information, and he pointed to the many steps the council was taking to help slow climate change, including the planting of thousands of new trees, the phasing out of all single use plastic, the installation of electric vehicle charging points and the replacement of council vehicles with low emission models.

At next week's meeting (October 16) of the council’s Select Committee, members will receive an update on recent progress and planned activity in its Greener Craven programme.

The Skipton and the Dales group is due to meet on Thursday, October 17, at 7pm at Steep and Filter, Otley Street. All welcome.