At the meeting of the Full Council on Tuesday 25^th October 2022, Lowestoft Town Council declared Lowestoft an Earth Protector Town.  Lowestoft Town Council was among the first Councils to declare a Climate Emergency in 2019 and to recognise the escalating ecological catastrophe on earth.  To reinforce this commitment to the environment, the Town Council voted in favour of being an Earth Protector Town and joining Earth Protector Communities growing global movement of towns, businesses, educational establishments and other organisations.

The declaration is both a symbolic and a practical step for the Town Council as it continues to work to protect the land, wildlife, air, soil and water whilst also endorsing the Stop Ecocide campaign which aims to address the lack of consequence for those who perpetuate significant harm to the planet and campaign for a change to international law to stop further devastation.

The Declaration:

In declaring Lowestoft an Earth Protector Town, Lowestoft Town Council undertakes to collaborate and cooperate with communities, local government bodies, businesses and other organisations to protect land, wildlife, air, soil and water. The Council considers the repercussions of its decisions and rigorous care is observed to avoid environmental harm in the exercise of its functions.

To protect the Earth, this Council will:

• Endorse, support and, through the publication of this declaration, raise awareness of the Earth Protector movement which campaigns to amend the Rome statute and declare ecocide* a crime at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
• Protect the community as best it can from environmental damage.
• Produce a strategy for the Council’s operations, including a date, to achieve a carbon zero future. Work with the community to guide action on becoming a carbon neutral town and programme awareness raising about climate change into our community work.
• Promote the movement from sustainable to regenerative living wherever possible across the town, including for households.
• Campaign with and support the community to achieve single use Plastic Free Community status.
• Work with the community to minimise the Town’s environmental impact and create a strategy to protect, enhance and connect ecosystems/habitats/species in and around our town.
• Raise awareness of climate and ecological emergencies through education, promotion of events and providing appropriate information.
• Pledge that any future investment decisions consider the environmental practices of the institutions involved, as well as existing legal requirements on public investments.
• Assure transparent and regular reporting of the implementation of the above pledges (including where possible a shared database of participating stakeholders’ specific goals and progress achieved in attaining them).

In declaring itself an Earth Protector Town, Lowestoft Town Council is publicly supporting the campaign to amend the Rome statute and declare Ecocide a crime at the ICC.

*ECOCIDE is serious loss, damage or destruction of ecosystems, and includes climate and cultural damage.