Green councillors are challenging East Sussex County Council's Reform UK administration over plans to drop the council's 2019 commitment to be carbon neutral by 2050. The Greens say the Cabinet report used a gross cost figure of more than 200 million pounds while ignoring the savings from energy efficiency, and that the same modelling shows a net cost of about 50 million pounds to 2050. The council has already cut its energy use since 2007 and invested in 235 projects, mostly in schools, saving around 880,000 pounds a year. Reform councillor Stephen Chapman argues net zero targets are crippling the UK economy, points to intermittency of wind and solar, and says the council cannot afford green initiatives without cutting other budgets. A scrutiny committee meets on 30 November. The Greens want it to reject the plan unless the council publishes full costs and savings side by side, year by year. The debate is a useful test of how local authorities weigh long term climate targets against immediate budget pressure.
