Agenda item

Report of the Director of Community Services enclosed.

The Director of Community Services submitted a report providing Committee with a position statement regarding the Council’s Carbon Emissions and suggesting priority areas of work and terms of reference for the Climate Change Working Group. The report was accompanied by a presentation to the Committee.

The Climate Change Act 2008 had set out emission reduction targets that the UK should comply with. In May 2019 the UK Parliament had declared a ‘Climate Change Emergency’ and in December 2020, it was declared that the UK would set targets of 68% reduction in emissions by the year 2030, and 100% by 2050, to become the first major economy to reach ‘net zero’ target.

In September 2021 the Council adopted the RVBC Climate Change Strategy 2021-2030, under which the Council’s ambition was to become carbon neutral by 2030. The Council measured its Carbon Emissions annually through One Carbon World (OCW) and a detailed summary was included in the report. It was the role of the Climate Change Working Group to review the Climate Change Strategy in agreement with the Economic Development Committee and to ensure that the action plan was implemented effectively.

Many schemes to further reduce the Council’s Carbon Emission had been agreed and the report summarized the following proposed areas of work for the working group:

·         Overseeing the refresh of the Climate Change Strategy and action plan based on the 2023 Peoples Survey and recommendations from the OCW report

·         The installation of solar panels at Council Offices

·         The installation of Electric Vehicle Chargers on rural car parks and at Longridge and Edisford

·         The feasibility of rolling out Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) to all refuse vehicles

·         Upgrading all Council Office lighting to LED

·         Launching a recycling campaign

·         Launching a ‘Good Housekeeping’ initiative for staff to reduce energy and waste.

The suggested terms of reference were included in the report.

Committee discussed the strategy at length, and it was felt that whilst the proposed areas of work were important, Members also wanted to ensure that wider issues and the goals of the Borough and its residents were also considered.  It was suggested that if the Working Group tried to achieve too much at once they may not fully complete projects, and that the group should focus on what they can do and not what they wish to do. Members noted case studies from other Councils and asked for similar ‘outside the box’ thinking. It was noted that a balance should be sought taking the economy of Borough into account when considering the strategy for Climate Change.

RESOLVED THAT COMMITTEE:

1.    Committee consider the information as noted in the report and the accompanying presentation; and

1.    Approve the establishment of the Climate Change Working Group and the adoption of the Terms of Reference (ToR) as noted in the report.

3.     That the Committee ask the Working Group to ensure that in reviewing and agreeing the priorities of the proposed 2-stage process that the Working Group ensure that:

·       Objectives are realistic and within the remit of RVBC responsibilities and budgetary controls; and

·       That the Working Group work towards developing and enhancing the economy of the Council and ultimately its business sector.