Agenda item

(Discussion item)

The Chair introduced this item and the Officers who were attending to provide an update on the Climate Change Declaration Update which was due to be considered by Cabinet in February.

The Assistant Director, Growth and Regeneration provided an overview of the Declaration adopted by Council in November 2019 which included a resolution to make the Council’s activities net-zero carbon by 2050.

The Assistant Director reported that:

·       The Council’s declaration focussed on the Council’s activities and the achievement of net zero carbon by 2050;

·       Net zero carbon required the balancing of the amount of emissions against those offset or sequestered;

·       Whilst there were already activities underway within the Council, such as work by the Assets Team as well as work on the ICT digital strategy and work from a HR perspective via incentivising low carbon vehicles, a clearer picture of the carbon footprint of the Council’s activities was required;

·       Assessment of the Council’s carbon footprint would require specialist advice following which areas of focus would be identified to reduce and /or offset the footprint and a road map set with milestones.

The Committee discussed and sought clarification in the following areas:

·       The differences between delivering carbon reduction related to the Council’s own activities; and those of the wider borough’s activities and the infrastructure supporting that, such as electric vehicle charging points.  It was noted that Infrastructure Safety & Growth Scrutiny Committee were engaged on the wider electric vehicle charging point infrastructure;

·       Assessment of the contribution of the Council’s housing stock towards the Council’s overall carbon footprint and the role of the recently appointed housing repairs contractors in reducing this;

·       When the Council would have a clear picture of its carbon footprint, following receipt of specialist advice, which the Assistant Director, expected could be available at the end of the 2021/22 municipal year, provided the funding was available to start the required procurement process.

·       The role of the Local Plan and planning policy.  It was reported that it was expected that these would play a key role in moving this agenda forwards.  It was noted that evidence gathering was a crucial part of any Local Plan review work and that this was now underway.  Review of the work undertaken by the West Midlands Combined Authority had formed part of this process.

·       The capacity of the electricity system infrastructure locally.  It was reported that the Government agenda included a national infrastructure plan and that one of the 10 key areas covered was the upgrading of the energy infrastructure for energy saving solutions.

The Committee thanked the Officers for their input and attendance at the meeting.

The Committee made the following recommendations to Cabinet.  

RESOLVED to recommend to Cabinet that:

1. A working group be set up comprising the responsible Portfolio Holder, Chair of the Health & Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee and a member of the Opposition to review the contents of any report produced to help understand the Council’s baseline carbon footprint.
2. A commitment be made to engage with members of the public regarding the green agenda, seeking their views and input on the contents of any baseline report produced.

(Moved by Councillor R Ford and seconded by Councillor P Brindley)

The Officers left the meeting.