A ROW has erupted over the council’s plans to slash carbon emissions over the coming years.

Southampton councillors have been furiously debating each other, after a motion for the city to become carbon neutral was rejected.

Southampton Labour previously tabled a proposal for Southampton City Council to commit to carbon neutrality by 2035.

However, this was rejected by the Tory-led council, which instead has a target of 2050.

At a recent full council meeting, Labour councillor Lisa Mitchell said: “The actions we can take to reach net-zero by 2035 in Southampton are not just necessary for avoiding catastrophic climate events but they are necessary for the health and happiness of the people in our city.

“A vision for net-zero by 2035, is a vision for the future of our city, a vision for the future of our young people and a vision for resilient neighbourhoods and communities across Southampton.”

However, the council boss for environment, Steven Galton has hit back, saying: “Their actions seem to show they care more for a political headline, than actually working together to get solutions – highlighted when they refused the Conservative leaders offer to amend their motion; to find wording we could all agree to.

“Despite claims to the contrary, Labour left no coherent plans or strategies – despite them deciding to declare an emergency. If Labour genuinely felt it was an emergency situation, why did they treat it as business as usual and repeatedly vote against Local Conservative plans to put more resources into tackling the problem? Even their adopted aims and unfunded plans for carbon reduction only applied to the Council’s corporate assets and didn’t touch our housing stock.”

Liz Batten of Transition Southampton – a group that promotes sustainable living, has been critical of the political rift, she said:”[Transition Southampton] are about people using imagination. We’re against sabre rattling and councillors more focused on elections. There’s a job to be done and the council has been doing its best for years. We should focus on how much good work has been going on. There needs to be more cross-party co-operation.”