Local Climate Groups met with Mel Stride (MP for Central Devon) on 10 November.  Minutes of the meeting are available below - apologies for the length of them!

 Meeting with Mel Stride.

  10th November 2023.  

Chudleigh Town Hall.  11.00 to 11.45.

 

Delegates from Climate Groups in Central Devon.

 Mandy Cole.    Social and Environmental Action Round Chudleigh (SEARCH).

Gerald Conyngham.   Crediton Climate Action.

Christina Dymond.     Sustainable Crediton.

Fran Rickwood.      Plastic Free Okehampton.

Sheena Felton.      Climate Action Bovey & Heathfield.

Stephen Sterling.  Ashburton Climate Emergency.

Plus Tom Wilson (note taker).

also present Mel's personal assistant and someone from Mel's Parliamentary office.

 

1.  Mel welcomed everyone to the meeting.  Delegates introduced themselves, and the group that they represented.

 

2.  Mel spoke of a number of climate initiatives that he has participated in, and confirmed that he is committed to work for the protection of the environment for future generations.  He spoke of his work in Westminster and confirmed that he receives and responds to a lot of correspondence on many issues, as well as Climate.

 

3.  Sheena spoke from a prepared paper quoting Lord Deben, and she challenged Mel with the question "How are you going to protect your children from the negative consequences of climate change ?" 

 

4.  To illustrate the need for action now, not deferred, Sheena showed two graphs .  These contrast the catastrophic consequence of continuing to burn fossil fuels at current rates, with the gradual decline to Net Zero that just might be possible if action is taken now.

 

5.  Mel responded by stating that the UK was "ahead of the pack" on decarbonising.  Sheena and others questioned this strongly and pointed out that historical carbon (starting with the industrial revolution) and exported carbon (in most of our consumer goods) were not factored into the carbon budgets.  Mel said that UK has a proud record in decarbonising and that (quote) "if you know otherwise let me know".

 

6.  When challenged on licensing fossil fuel extraction Mel asserted that we would still need fossil fuels in 2050 , and it would be more secure if it came from the North sea.  This was contested by several, and it was argued that this was directly in contradiction to the report by Lord Deben, and many other eminent scientists, whose view was that fossil fuels must stay in the ground now, and further contamination of the atmosphere must cease.

 

7.  Mel pointed out that UK decarbonisation compares favorably with other nations, and we need to be working with others not against them.  However, Stephen said our benchmark should be to keep ahead, not slacken off to align with others.  So why has the Government pulled back on the target to cease manufacture and sale of petrol and diesel vehicles ?  Mel replied that the target remains the same, it is just the time-line that has changed. 

 

8.   Mandy spoke of the loss of trust that the public is experiencing with this government as targets are changed and policies reversed.  Mel replied that planning is going into areas difficult to predict, and targets need to be reviewed as we go forward.

 

9.  Christina asked why developments were still being built without PV, heat pumps or waste water recycling. They often didn't have footpaths or cyclepaths. Why is it that sustainable housing is only for the wealthy few ? Christina felt deeply concerned at this injustice.   She then said that it broke her heart everytime she drove through Okehampton and saw the huge new developments with only a few of the most expensive houses having solar PV.  She also said her sons estate didn't even have footpaths into town or a place for the children to play. Mel asked her where that was and she said Launceston which he commented was not in his constituency. 

 

10.  Christina demanded that developers be required by new law to make up that shortfall of provision, and that their profits are more than sufficient to fund it once government makes it compulsory.  Sheena pointed out that Persimmon has recently paid millions of pounds for bonuses to its senior management, which could have been used to install solar panels on affordable houses for ordinary people.

 

11.  Sheena and Stephen questioned a comment recently made by Graham Stuart MP Net Zero Minister who has said that "Oil and gas are not the problem - there is nothing fundamentally wrong with oil and gas, it is the emissions from them that are the problem".  Mel acknowledged that this could be misleading and said he would follow this up.  He added that 48% of our energy is now from sustainable sources.

 

12.  Stephen asked why the government was showing so little leadership in supporting climate mitigation and adaptation at the local level, given the seriousness of the climate crisis. He pointed out that research from IPSOS said 84% of the population were 'concerned' about climate change, and more than 52% were 'very concerned'.  Mel said he thought that the government was responding adequately.  Stephen pointed out that a rapid transition strategy is now urgent and Mel said the government strategy for this was already in place.

 

13.  Gerald spoke of the large volumes of carbon that are embodied in new construction, and is increasing all the time while standards are continually delayed by the government.  Government should be leading the way on adaptation.  People are waiting and willing for this to happen. Mel asked Gerald to send him information about this.

 

14.  Mandy spoke of the harm being caused to young people.  50% of young people in a large scale study say they have been negatively impacted by distress, anxiety, and difficulty with daily functioning directly as a consequence of climate change news, and the inaction of government in response. 

 

15.  Mel replied that young people were affected by a variety of issues, for example the impact of Covid lockdown.  He suggested that progression into employment generated a more positive mental health prospect, and that more resources have been made available in this area recently.

 

16.  Mandy urged Mel to keep this under review as many young people feel discounted by politicians, and ignored by government.  Mandy offered to supply the published data to this effect.  Steve added that many young people are waiting for positive action from the government.

 

17.  Sheena asked if Mel would be voting against the King's speech in parliament, in view of the proposals to license new fossil fuel extraction against scientific advice.  Mel replied that as a member of the government he would not.  Sheena asked again if he would vote against the bill for further oil fields, but Mel did not reply.

 

18.  Chrstina asked about the grid infrastructure necessary to support decarbonisation, and pointed out that there was very little development in the South West, despite great potential for solar, wind, and tidal resources in this region. Mel did not respond about speeding up grid connections.

 

19.  Mandy spoke of an agreement with housing developers in Chudleigh to grant planning permission for 4 new housing units in return for a sustainable waste water recovery scheme, a 10% increase in biodiversity on the site, and sustainable transport provision.  However the developers have not kept their part of the agreement and this needs to be taken up at government level.  Mel asked for evidence and data to support the importance of the agreement, and the failure of the developers to comply.

 

20.  Fran spoke of the importance of teaching children about environment and climate change, but at some schools in Okehampton these topics have been squeezed out of the curriculum due to funding cutbacks.  Mel said he was aware of good schools in Okehampton that have been exploring environmental issues, but Fran spoke from her own experience of real shortages at these schools now.  She said that many children are anxious about facing a very uncertain future, and more resources are needed to help and support them. Mel said he would take this up with the school's minister.

 

21.  Mandy highlighted the fact that because of funding cuts many schools are relying more and more on volunteers to deliver their education, and although many people are willing to volunteer (as seen in the response to help in the covid pandemic), this is not a long term solution.  The majority of UK residents are now very climate aware, but strong leadership from government is lacking.

 

22.  The meeting closed at about 11.55 and we left to debrief with coffee at the Phoenix coffee bar.  There we were joined by three more supporters.  

 

The general feeling was that it had been worth while to meet with Mel. It seems he  was genuinely interested in some points raised , though in the main he seemed keen to praise the governments efforts and underplay the urgency of the situation and how far  there was to go. He studiously avoided addressing some issues . We can only urge everyone to continue to press our MP on the urgency of the Climate Emergency.

Christina Dymond