Could the Cabinet Member please update us on the work the council is doing regarding the Climate Emergency?
Minutes:
County Councillor Pratt responded that following a motion at May Council officers were instructed to begin work on developing an action plan which will set out how we aim to reduce the authority’s carbon emissions. The Cabinet Member hoped to take this to Strong Communities Select Committee in September and to Council in October to ensure all Members have a chance to debate and endorse the actions that will deliver this policy commitment.
In order to reduce our emissions, we first need to understand what they are currently. Emissions for the whole County have dropped from about 900,000 tonnes per year in 2005 to around 650,000 tonnes per year in 2016. This is consistent with national trends as more renewable energy is generated and the use of coal reduces. At that rate it would take more than 30 years to achieve the sort of change we need.
51% of the emissions are from transport, reflecting the rural nature of the County. 24% from domestic emissions, and 25% from industrial and commercial emissions.
Looking more specifically at our own organisation we emit around 8700 tonnes of carbon a year from static assets such as buildings and street lighting and another 3000 tonnes from vehicles used by officers and Members in the course of their work.
On 19th June officers held a workshop to begin thinking about how we need to respond to the Climate Emergency. They considered work already underway towards reducing emissions such as solar farm, installation of electric vehicle charging points and LED street lighting.
Officers began identifying a wide range of actions looking at transport, energy, waste and procurement, land use and green infrastructure. Consideration was given to what the carbon impact of these different actions would be, estimates of financial costs and timescales.
Four separate workshops have been held to continue the process of prioritising which actions will form part of the action plan, which will then be worked on in more detail.
We hugely value the enthusiasm, energy and expertise of the residents of Monmouthshire who contribute to tackling the Climate Emergency. In line with the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act we plan to collaborate with communities and partners to work together on the action plan. The Community Climate Champions meeting will take place on 31st July 2019 to begin the process.
Policies have been amended in light of the Climate Emergency. A new Issues, Vision and Objectives paper for the LDP has been approved. The Corporate Plan objectives will be subject to a mid-term review and will incorporate more detain on the Climate Emergency.
Sincere thanks were offered to officers for their commitment to the climate change emergency despite other pressures. Council has not taken the matter lightly and assurance was given that commitment and urgency will be sustained in the weeks, months and years ahead.
As a supplementary Councillor Watkins stated that she had always felt proud of Monmouthshire for investing in a solar farm, and asked if the Council is also looking to invest in renewable energy?
In response the Cabinet Member explained that 99% of our buildings use renewable energy. She added that we are looking at an additional solar farm, and part of the process due to take place over the summer will include looking at what investments can be made.