Bedford Council’s Climate Strategy Action Plan way off course
Bedford Borough Council declared a Climate Emergency in 2019 and set out to become a Carbon Neutral Council by 2030. However, a report to the Climate Change and Environment committees indicated that the council’s CO2 emissions have increased by 15% and pushed the net zero target back by 5 to 10 years. One quarter of actions to achieve net zero are now on hold, up from 15% last year.
Councillor Charles Royden, Liberal Democrat Environment spokesperson, commented,
“This is an incredibly disappointing report. This report depends on grants we don’t have, technology we can’t yet deploy, and offsetting we can’t afford because of other decisions this Council has made. Three years after we successfully applied for grant funding for electric charge points, not a single EV charging point has been installed– it is all too little too late. It will take years to undo the lost opportunities. The Mayor should be honest and say that he has kicked the climate emergency into the long grass.”
Councillor Hilde Hendrickx, Liberal Democrat Climate Change spokesperson, added,
“The Climate Change Committee meeting I attended this week strengthened my feeling that on the Climate Action Plan the Council is completely adrift. Bedford Borough is way off the trajectory to get to net zero at any time, let alone 2030. There is no plan to get there, let alone a credible plan, and no comprehensive Climate Strategy whatsoever.”
“A coherent Climate Change plan is not a ‘nice to have’. Our climate is changing fast and people are suffering. We need decisive leadership, not dither and delay. What extremes in weather will Bedford Borough be seeing by 2035?”
(item 9)
And Agenda for Climate Change Committee on Monday, 22nd June, 2026, 6.30 pm - Bedford Borough Council
(item 8)