COUNCIL bosses have revealed plans to slash carbon emissions to meet the demands of climate change.

In February, Durham County Council declared a climate emergency after passing a motion to take urgent action on the issue.

This included setting new targets to reduce emissions by 60 per cent before 2030 and making the county carbon neutral by 2050.

Council officers are working on several green schemes including housing insulation, electric vehicles, business incentives and increasing solar panel use. Upcoming projects also include a new solar farm in Tanfield, a zero carbon council depot and using naturally-heated water from a former coal mine to heat the swimming pool at Stanley’s Louisa Centre.

At a special meeting of the Environment and Sustainable Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee, councillors were given an opportunity to feed back on early plans.

Cllr Stuart Dunn, who launched the climate emergency motion this year, said carbon reduction should be considered in every council decision.

This includes assessing “carbon costs” by weighing up community need against the potential impact to the environment.

Other ideas including incentivising businesses to reduce their carbon footprint and pressuring developers to build carbon-neutral houses.

“It’s not a question of whether we can afford to do this, it’s a question of whether we can afford not to,” he said.

Cllr Dunn also read out a letter by campaign group Extinction Rebellion which called for “inclusive democracy” around the climate change issue.

He added: “The climate rebellion have grasped public attention and it needs to continue to be there.

“We can do an awful lot more listening so it’s great the officers are getting around the table to find out what their issues are and what to do about them.

“It’s the poorest and most marginalised people in our society and around the world that will be affected by this and we have a huge huge part to play.”

However, Cllr Craig Martin said that the agreed targets for carbon reduction should be more ambitious. This included pursuing a target to become carbon neutral by 2030 in line with a similar motion passed Redcar and Cleveland Council.

Cllr Rob Crute quizzed officers the impact of Brexit around future funding for carbon reduction schemes. Principal officer for low carbon economy, Stephen McDonald, said the council can’t rely on funding going forward.

Full details of council plans to reduce emissions will be revealed in a response to the climate emergency motion in July. The document is expected to work as a platform to engage the public, businesses and climate change campaigners in future.