Shropshire Greens condemn council's 'unforgivable' North West Relief Road after carbon emissions bombshell

The new figures show that the amount of carbon to be offset has jumped from 26,711 to 55,904 tonnes, with the council's Northern Planning Committee due to consider the new assessment on Tuesday (January 21).

The project crucially has the backing of Shropshire’s fire, police and health services, while Arriva West Midlands, which operates bus services in Shropshire, has also pledged its support.

However, according to case officer, Mike Davies, the rise in carbon emissions that the new road will produce means that it will be ‘impossible’ for the council to achieve its target of being carbon neutral by 2030.

“California is on fire, and 2024 was just announced as the hottest year on record,” said Councillor Duncan Kerr (Oswestry South), the leader of the Green Party in Shropshire.

“A new report from the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) – one of the most conservative bodies imaginable – warns that the impact of climate breakdown could cause four billion deaths by 2050.

“Yet here in Shropshire, our Conservative council is happy to burn, baby, burn and rip up the Climate Emergency Declaration it made in 2019.

“This is unforgivable. Every ton of carbon we emit increases the risk that our children will inherit a broken planet. Can Conservative councillors look Shropshire parents in the eye and tell them they have their children’s best interests at heart?

“Shropshire Council has spent the last five years calling itself ‘a climate leader’, but now they might as well rip up their Climate Emergency Declaration.

“At COP29 last November, the Prime Minister warned that warming above 1.5 degrees will ‘expose hundreds of thousands more people in the UK to flood risk, greater economic instability, and national insecurity.’

“This is what Shropshire Tories are baking into the relief road. More flooding for Shropshire residents. Less money for our public services. And the threat of war and international tensions as climate breakdown bites.

“You might say 'what about China?’ or ‘these emissions are tiny’. But climate scientists will tell you that every ton of carbon we emit matters.”

Shropshire Council has said it plans to offset the road’s emissions and is asking for a 500 per cent increase in funding for ‘mitigating’ the pollution at a cost of £8.4m.

“Offsetting commitments won’t be worth the carbon in the paper they are written on,” said Councillor Julian Dean (Porthill, Shrewsbury).

“Shropshire should already be doing more tree planting and other natural ‘carbon capture’ measures – which are also good for nature.

“Now the council says it will need to find huge new sources for offsetting, which inevitably means corners will be cut and dodgy schemes will be bought into. Shropshire Greens believe there is a much better way to cut this deadly carbon: don’t build the road, and invest in walking, cycling, and clean public transport solutions instead.”