ACTION will follow the fine words in the battle to make Kendal a world leader in the fight against climate change.

That is the vow of Kendal Town Council (KTC) after a resolution to declare a 'climate emergency' and also to commit to making the town carbon neutral by 2030 was passed by the group this week.

"Times are changing fast and more and more people across the world are realising the situation we are in," said Liberal Democrat Cllr Jon Owen, who proposed the resolution which in an indication of cross party solidarity on the issue was seconded by Green Party Cllr Chris Rowley.

"A lot of local authorities are adapting this type of resolution but we want to make sure we are not just 'green-washing' and we will try to back up the words with firm action."

The resolution, which was agreed at last week's KTC meeting, noted that it was "now clear that the world has less than 12 years to switch away from fossil fuels to avoid the worst impacts of climate change."

The group have already voted to allocate £5,000 from their 2019/20 budget in the pursuit of carbon neutrality, but Cllr Owen explained that the town council’s ‘Carbon Neutral Kendal’ sub-group were now pressing ahead with a bid for matched funding to support the setting up of a 'Citizen's Jury' of local people who would pilot the drive to make the town carbon neutral by 2030.

The move follows recent protests against climate change outside Kendal Town Hall by young people from local schools and colleges who were joined by other concerned residents, the moves being part of a series of global days of action organised to highlight the issues involved.

Josh Brayshaw, who attends Kirkbie Kendal School, said he was pleased KTC had taken the step.

"As a student I believe that this is a good, important step for our council to have taken and it shows that the they have been compelled to take action on this incredibly important issue," he said.

"I do however think that we cannot now just relax having expressed our concerns.

"Instead we must continue to push our local representatives towards taking more action in the future if we should hope to ever see our homes secure from climate change."

The KTC move follows last week's event when the Lake District National Park Partnership’s Low Carbon Lake District programme celebrates its 10th anniversary.

The event was attended by leaders of a range of organisations in Cumbria who have committed to developing an ambitious programme to reduce carbon emissions across the area.