Issue - meetings

“The effects of climate change are being felt in Carmarthenshire, last year we had flooding that caused homelessness, damage and death. What are the council putting in place to ensure my future, living, working and raising a family in Carmarthen is safe.”

“The effects of climate change are being felt in Carmarthenshire, last year we had flooding that caused homelessness, damage and death. What are the council putting in place to ensure my future, living, working and raising a family in Carmarthen is safe.”

Response by Councillor Emlyn Dole, Leader of the Council:-

Can I first of all thank Coral Sylvan for raising this question with us. Before I answer this question, I want to thank, not only for the question, but to thank Coral for coming here this morning, because I think she’s breaking new ground in the history of Carmarthenshire County Council. I don’t think we’ve had somebody as young as eleven years old coming here before to challenge us with a question, which is challenging, and which is asking us to consider the future in the context of her generation. I’m not surprised if we we’re listening to a leader of the council for the future. I think that its’ great to welcome you here formally to the Chamber and to respond to a question which does require our attention as councillors, as a county council and as local authorities across Wales.

For years we’ve heard that young people seem to be taking no interest in politics and the world around them.  Well, there are signs that things are changing. I was told by somebody who I enjoyed back in the seventy’s, Bob Dylan, that times they are a-changing. And they are. They are changing in terms of the youngsters who are willing to stand up and to be counted and to ask the right and the pertinent questions, and to hear that there’s an interest in politics and the world around us is very heartening indeed.

I’m sitting right opposite the Director of Education and I’m sure you won’t agree with me here but I was pretty impressed that pupils from around the UK went "on strike" last Friday as part of a global campaign for action on climate change. Do you know what, I was driving home last Friday evening. I was on the A48 and nearly caused an accident because I was listening to the news about the strike, the effects and people talking about that and they quoted a spokesman from the Department of Education at the U.K. Government who said, and that’s why I nearly crashed, term time leave should only be granted in exceptional circumstances, and I thought to myself, when I recovered the steering, how about the future of the planet, how exceptional is that?. I guess that’s pretty exceptional for us all.  

Students around the country walked out of schools to call on the government to declare a climate emergency and take action and active steps to tackle that problem. Protests took place in more than 60 towns and cities across the U.K. with an estimated 15,000 students taking part. They carried placards, some reading: "There is no planet B." It’s so important that young people are allowed to have  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6