CLIMATE change and how to stop it will be investigated by a team of councillors as Wiltshire Council attempts to become carbon neutral by 2030.

The vote to acknowledge a climate emergency was narrowly won after a demonstration by activists Extinction Rebellion on February 26.

Now the overview and scrutiny management committee has agreed to set up a task group to investigate how to make the county carbon neutral by 2030 and report its findings regularly to council.

Coun Brian Mathew called on the task group to include who are dedicated to investigating different aspects of environmental issues. “When you are talking about setting up a task group this is something that is going to have to run and run right up to 2030.

“There could be issues with what Wiltshire Council can do with its own buildings but also what we could do with planning and what it can do in terms of influencing other bodies. The task group should have working groups to tackle these complicated issues rather than one big mishmash.”

Coun Claire Cape added: “It’s not just about the environment committee’s role it’s planning, education and everything else. We need to be the change we want to see.”

Campaigner Bill Jarvis told the committee: “The time to act is now. Some argue it is other countries that have to act and they do but we as individuals must change too.

“You have joined around 40 other council who also recognised the climate emergency and we have to thank you for that.”