A SENIOR councillor says a programme aimed at helping Inverclyde Council achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2045 must be delayed.

David Wilson spoke out a meeting of the environment and regeneration committee where the council's net zero strategy action plan for 2022-2027 was given the green light by the majority of members.

The committee approved the original strategy back in 2021 and in January this year they rubber-stamped an allocation of £350,000 to cover the introduction of low/zero carbon emission heating systems and further fleet decarbonisation.

The action plan sets out how the council will make changes and begin 'offsetting' to compensate for the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

The document also details how carbon emissions could be reduced, through making changes to energy use in the council's buildings, transport, street lighting, water usage and waste.

But Conservative councillor Mr Wilson believe the plan should be paused for the time being, due to the impact of the pandemic.

He said: "We've done a lot towards net zero already and this is the wrong time to launch a great big piece of work like this.

"It is a big job and I think we should have delayed it for a couple of years.

"We're still suffering from the effects of Covid and staff are extremely stretched.

"This plan includes practical things that need to be done 'in the field'.

"We have many staff still choosing to work from home for a portion of the week and don't have people 'on the ground' like we had before."

Cllr Wilson said he accepts climate change must be addressed but has concerns about the pace being set on targets.

He added: "I know there is a problem with the climate but in Scotland we are well ahead of the game in terms of what we're doing.

"Targets should stretch and not tear and I think this target will tear.

"The committee said we should go ahead but I've expressed my misgivings."

Council leader Stephen McCabe said he welcomed the action plan.

He added: "I don't profess to be an expert but it's important that we seek to make significant progress with regard to net zero.

"Despite financial challenges, we need to make a significant allocation of funding to take this forward.

"We want to maximise external funding that we can attract."

Cllr McCabe asked officials for feedback on engagement with other local authorities and the identification of opportunities to work with them to learn and collaborate.

He also asked about what the community and other private and public partners can do, saying there should be 'an Inverclyde-wide approach to net zero'.

Regeneration chief Stuart Jamieson said engagement with other organisations was talking place and were opportunities to learn from others.