A PETITION calling on Dorset Council to declare a climate emergency has reached over 500 signatures.

The petition on Change.org requests that Dorset Council meet a series of climate related goals to curb global warming which includes a pledge to make Dorset carbon neutral by 2030.

The petition was started by Planet Shaftesbury, an organisation dedicated to raising awareness for climate change.

They highlight that Dorset Council is one of the last councils in the south west to not make such a declaration.

Maude Chappell of Planet Shaftesbury said: “I’m not saying there is anything wrong with being the last one.

“It is necessary at this point.

“It is becoming the norm, which is fantastic.”

Planet Shaftesbury describes itself as a “centre of a local network of initiatives and projects working towards public and political recognition of the climate emergency.”

Its other demands to Dorset Council include a call for it to work with other local authorities to address the issue of climate change.

It cites the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) October 2018 report that a 2 per cent rise in the global temperature would be enormously damaging for the environment.

The report further stated that humans only have until 2030 to limit global temperatures to a more manageable 1.5 per cent rise above pre-industrial era levels.

The IPCC states that measures such as reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 45 per cent from 2010 levels by 2030 – with a view to achieving net zero by 2050 – would be required to meet that need.

Other nearby councils that have declared climate emergencies include Somerset County Council, Wiltshire Council, Mendip District Council, Cornwall Council, Plymouth City Council and Bristol City Council.

Sarah Churchill, Bridport co-ordinator for the environmental activist group Extinction Rebellion, said: “I am really pleased that this petition is there.

“We support them with that and we will be petitioning ourselves.”

She added that many Dorset people from the organisation have been taking part in the ongoing Extinction Rebellion protests in London, and that they will be working on activism in Dorset soon.