A POLITICAL row has broken out over plans to tackle climate change in the county.

Witham North County Councillor James Abbott, of the Green Party, has accused his Conservative equivalents of politicising the matter and questioned why the party is seeking to address CO2 emissions while it is still pursuing plans to expand the A12 and build a new A120.

The Tory-led county council has revealed plans to plant 375,000 trees in Essex throughout the next five years in a move which it hopes will help capture 60,000 tonnes of carbon.

Leader David Finch also announced he planned to set up a cross-party working group which will discuss new ideas on how to tackle climate change.

Despite welcoming the announcements, opposition councillors such as Mr Abbott argued the plans didn't go far enough are would be undermined by other large scale projects in the region.

He said: "If Essex is so committed to this please could it explain why there have been cuts to school transport, why it opposes pedestrian crossings close to primary schools, why it has zero capital budget for cycling, why it is financing lobbying for major road building including the A12 and building a new A120 through open countryside that Highways England say will produce a 50 per cent increase in road traffic?

“Why recycling progress has stalled and this council has sent hundreds of thousands of tonnes for waste incineration?

“Why it is supporting new towns in open countryside and why it has overseen reductions in support for rural bus services?

“Why doesn’t this council declare a climate emergency and actually get real on this issue?

“Because I for one do not buy the Conservatives’ new found interest in this issue."

The Tories were also accused by other councillors of playing political games due to their record of voting down other green policies put forward by the opposition in the past.

Mr Finch rejected the concerns raised and insisted other projects, such as reducing carbon footprint by generating more renewable energy, demonstrated the Tory's commitment to tackling climate change.

He said: “We will take advantage of new innovations. An example of this: Essex Highways are exploring warm tarmac, – if rolled out across the country it would save at least 61,000 tonnes of CO2 – the equivalent of almost 300 million car journeys,” he said.

“And this council is already trialling carbon neutral school buildings at four school expansion projects across Essex, with projects completing as early as next year.”

He added: “Tackling climate change is not just the role of one person, or one administration, or one country. We are all responsible custodians for our world.

“But by working with staff, partners, businesses, residents and communities, we will lead on reducing emissions, energy usage and waste across Essex, while increasing the amount of green infrastructure we have.”