Aberdeen City Council SNP chief Alex Nicoll accused opponents of “scoring political points” over climate change amid the ongoing COP26 summit.
Convener Ryan Houghton, the Conservative leader, lodged a motion noting the Scottish Government “once again missed their targets for climate change” and urging members to agree the council was being let down by ministers in its bid to reduce its carbon emissions.
However, the two party chiefs clashed on the topic after Mr Nicoll took issue with the contents of the motion, laying the blame for a lack of funding for councils to meet their climate ambitions at the door of the UK Government.
Climate change sparks row
He urged Mr Houghton to “join in declaring a climate emergency and address the key issues”, and accused the Tory, Labour and independent administration of using climate change for political gain.
In response, Mr Houghton said: “Neither I or any of my colleagues brought any other parties into it. It took the SNP 30 seconds to attack the UK Government.
“We are seeing continued underfunding of local authorities which is confirmed by the Scottish Parliament and the Fraser of Allander Institute.
“It is an absolute fact that local authorities are having their funding cut, either by smoke and mirrors or by absolute cuts.”
Council publishes climate report
The two group leaders clashed over the publication of a climate change report covering the last financial year.
It includes the period where the council approved a “net zero vision” and a climate change plan covering emission reduction and “climate resilience”.
The authority also recently announced a partnership with energy giant BP, paving the way for the creation of its much-heralded hydrogen hub.