West Norfolk council climate debate delayed due to extreme heat

“Postponing a climate debate because of a red heat warning is undeniably ironic,” he said.

“It may be amusing, but it also reminds us that practical measures, like improving the energy efficiency of homes and making our communities more resilient, deliver benefits that people can feel today.”

Moore argues the council should replace its declaration with a practical environmental and resilience strategy focused on flood defence, water management and protecting farmland.

“I’ve proposed a motion to replace the current emergency that focuses on CO2 with a resilience strategy so we can make ourselves more resilient to the effects of climate change,” he said.

“You don’t spend all your money trying to stop a hurricane, tornado or earthquake – you create infrastructure that is resilient to as much of it as possible.”

Since the climate emergency was declared five years ago when the council was controlled by the Conservatives, money was set aside for decarbonisation, several council buildings were retrofitted for energy efficiency and the authority brought forward its net zero target from 2050 to 2035.

Net zero refers to an equal balance between the amount of gases or carbon being produced and the amount we are able to remove from the atmosphere by changing the way we do things, like driving electric rather than fossil-fuel powered vehicles.

Scientists have little doubt that human-caused climate change — largely the result of the burning of coal, oil and gas — has supercharged the heat.