THE teenager who led calls on Bolton Council to declare a climate emergency has accused the town hall of failing to act on the pledge.

Paris Hayes, who lobbied the council to make commitments on tackling climate change last year, said that campaigners are frustrated by the local authority's "inability to act" on the issue.

Councillors agreed to a long list of steps the town hall would take when they voted to declare a climate emergency in August which included setting up a "Citizens' Assembly".

Now, a new petition has been set up urging Bolton Council to act on its pledge.

It said: "We want the council, to set up a Citizens' Assembly, that will allow a cross section of the Bolton public to be invited to take part.

"They will be given the facts of the situation by experts including scientists and other climate professionals, and will bring together plans to present to Bolton Council.

"A representative assembly can help the partners in choosing between options for radical change, setting priorities and increasing accountability for the plan's delivery.

"Individual actions alone aren't enough, we need government and local councils to make big changes and fast."

The council voted to declare a climate emergency when they reconvened at a special meeting on August 29 after councillors ran out of time to discuss the matter the previous week.

As part of the motion which was approved, Bolton Council committed to making the council's activities net zero carbon and achieve 100 per cent clean energy across the council's full range of functions by 2030.

It also committed to ensuring that all strategic decisions, budgets and approaches to planning decisions are in line with a shift to zero carbon.

As well as convening a Citizen's Assembly, the council also committed to setting up a Climate Change Partnership group involving councillors, residents and climate experts.

A council spokesman: “There is cross-party support for reducing our dependency on fossil fuels and creating a cleaner future for younger generations.

“The climate emergency is a large and complex issue. Working with our key partners to develop a comprehensive strategy to deal with this challenge will take time.

“Bolton residents have an essential role to play in developing this strategy and discussions are ongoing to determine the best way to engage the public.

“A Citizens' Assembly is one of the options being considered so we can make sure that peoples’ opinions can form part of that strategic response.”