A CALL to declare a climate emergency in Worcester will be discussed by the city council next week.

The motion by Green councillor Neil Laurenson calls on Worcester City Council to declare a climate emergency and pledge to make the city carbon neutral by 2030.

The city council would become one of the hundred or so authorities to declare a climate emergency recently, if the motion receives the backing of councillors when they meet next Tuesday (July 16).

The motion praises the city council for showing "foresight and leadership" over climate change by making an effort to reduce energy in the Guildhall and investing in solar panels on St Martin's Gate car park but the current plans are "not enough."

The call by Cllr Laurenson comes two months after the same plea was rejected by the county council.

A motion put forward by Green county councillor Matthew Jenkins to declare a climate emergency across Worcestershire was rejected by the council's Conservatives in May.

The original call urged the council to declare a climate emergency and pushed for a target for the county to be carbon neutral back by 2030.

An amended motion was eventually passed but only when the climate emergency declaration was removed and the 2030 target was pushed back by two decades to 2050.

Hundreds of protestors stood outside County Hall before and during the full council meeting pleading with the county council to declare a climate emergency.

According to website Climate Emergency UK, 115 first and second tier councils have already declared a climate emergency with 71 of those authorities setting a carbon neutral target of 2030.

Cllr Marjory Bisset said: "Climate change is the most important and gravest challenge of our time and we humans are responsible for it through our ever-increasing emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases.

"We must keep the rise in temperature to 1.5 degrees or face catastrophic consequences.

Individuals can only do so much and it is up to government, both national and local, to take action to limit emissions.

"Many cities in the UK have already declared a climate emergency and committed resources to address this emergency. Bold climate action can actually make Worcester a more successful city in economic terms as well as a better place to live."