Essex’s plans to become carbon neutral by 2050 have been labelled as ‘fiddling while our planet burns’ by a climate campaigner.

In wake of a new report from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which warned of impending ‘irreversible and catastrophic’ impacts of climate change, Essex County Council reiterated its goal achieve net neutral carbon emissions in just under 30 years.

However, Jon Fuller, of the South East Essex Friends of the Earth group, says change is needed much sooner and has called for the council to target halving emissions, meat consumption, flights, and car journeys in the county by 2030.

“The report makes it clear, that unless we halve emissions by 2030 the young will face complete and utter catastrophe,” he said.

“Essex County Council is fiddling while our planet burns. Nothing other than an emergency scale response is now appropriate. And if we love the youngest members of our families that is precisely what we will do.”

Mr Fuller added the council needed to ramp up its scheme to help home owners insulate their properties to reduce emissions and further prioritise developing cycle lanes to encourage sustainable transport.

“2050 is not an adequate deadline,” he continued. “When we’re told that the youngest members of our family face death, will governments sit up and do something?"

The IPCC report concluded humans are “unequivocally” driving global warming – with impacts from heatwaves to rising seas and extreme rain already seen around the world.

It paints a stark picture of the impact of burning fossil fuels – and the future the world faces if it fails to rapidly tackle the crisis.

The world will reach or exceed temperature rises of 1.5C – a limit countries have pledged to try to keep to in order to avoid the most dangerous consequences of warming – over the next two decades, the report says

Heavy precipitation and flooding will become “more intense and frequent” in Europe and the activity of humans will lead to increases in the intensity of hot extremes.

In a stark warning, the report states that the Artic is likely to be “practically sea ice free” in September at least once before 2050, and adds: “Many changes due to past and future greenhouse gas emissions are irreversible for centuries to millennia."

Responding to the report, Cllr Peter Schwier, Essex County Council’s Climate Czar, said: “This is a vital reality check and reminder that all levels of government have a responsibility to tackle climate change now. Time is fast running out to stay below the threshold of limiting global warming to below 1.5 degrees Centigrade. Extreme weather events are likely to become more frequent and more severe and doing nothing is not an option.

“The county of Essex is at the forefront of tackling climate change, most recently seen with the launch of the Essex Climate Action Commission’s report, Net Zero – Making Essex Carbon Neutral. The report contains over 130 recommendations on how Essex can best get to net zero by 2050."