THE future of our planet is too important an issue to be bogged down in party politics, was the message on Friday (11th March) as representatives from councils across Coventry and Warwickshire attended a climate change conference.

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The Coventry and Warwickshire Climate Change conference – billed as Beyond Cop26 – took place at Warwick University’s Slate building, with representatives from seven councils and other organisations coming together in a bid to plan how to tackle the climate crisis.

Chaired by the leader of Warwickshire County Council, Cllr Izzi Seccombe, the day-long event saw speakers from city, borough, county and district councils give their thoughts on combatting climate change in the Coventry and Warwickshire region.

Cllr Seccombe began proceedings by saying that “we know that no action is not an option” and spoke of a need to “embed the seed of change”.

The need for a unified approach across all political and geographical boundaries was emphasised by several speakers on the day, with chair of Coventry Climate Change Board, Margot James, stating that their efforts “will only be successful if everyone is successfully working together”, going on to add: “If we work together, we can make Coventry and Warwickshire the home of green innovation.”

The event was also attended by representatives of Warwickshire Youth Council, Alice Battersby and Zoe Stevens, who told the conference: “It’s easy to say young people will have these opportunities in the future. But what if we don’t get a future where we can have an impact? What if by the time we’re older, it’s too late?” They went on to implore the older generations to “sacrifice some of your profits for our future”.

Although representatives from the likes of Warwickshire Wildlife Trust and Midlands Energy Hub were present, many community groups concerned with climate change were not invited to attend in person, instead being given the option of a livestream of proceedings.

Dr David Mond, of Warwickshire Climate Alliance, said: “I was one of the fortunate few from community organisations to have been invited, so out of an estimated 300 people present, I was the only activist from a climate change community organisation. It was encouraging that all of the councils were at least putting on an appearance of working to substantially reduce their carbon emissions. Probably the fact that they would be speaking to their peers required them to demonstrate a certain level of commitment, and maybe even firm up their plans, and that is good.

“But as elected councillors they should be answerable to the public, and the public were not there to query their plans or demand stronger action. There was no public discussion among the councillors.

“Hopefully some took place in private conversations during the breaks.”

He added: “There were no proposals for joint action, and no votes, or even shows of hands, on what approach we should follow.

“To a large extent the whole event seemed like a public relations display rather than an opportunity to share skills and understanding or to seek common solutions.”