Issue - meetings

Report of Corporate Director Communities.

***Please note this report is ‘to follow’***

Resolved

(1)       That the presentation be noted.

(2)       That Executive be advised that Overview and Scrutiny Committee endorse and support the ‘One Planet Living’ approach.

(3)       That the Carbon Management Plan be submitted to the September meeting of the committee.

(4)       That further updates on Climate Change work be submitted to the committee as work progresses.

The Chairman welcomed Councillor Dan Sames, Portfolio Holder for Cleaner and Greener Communities to the meeting to give a presentation on the council’s work regarding climate change.

Councillor Sames explained that the council had commissioned Bioregional to review the council’s activities against the ‘One Planet Living’ framework. One Planet Living meant living within the resources of one planet rather than the resources of three, as was currently the case in Europe.

The review of the district’s activities looked at internal and external activities and their impact on residents and businesses. The review detailed ten principles to form the basis of One Planet Living, and Councillor Sames explained that the aim was to embed the principles across the district to increase sustainability.

In response to questions from the Committee, Councillor Sames explained that Executive were seeking endorsement of the One Planet Living approach as the start of an ongoing process. Bioregional would continue to work with the council, and Overview and Scrutiny Committee would be involved as work progressed.

The Committee endorsed the One Planet Living approach, but expressed concerns regarding the amount of progress made in relation to the climate emergency declared in 2019, and the pledge to be net carbon neutral by 2030. Committee also requested future agenda items that would allow meaningful scrutiny to take place.  

In response to the concerns, Councillor Sames explained the carbon management baseline had decreased 51% by 2020/2021, compared to the 2008/2009 position. The baseline was predicted to reduce a further 25% by the end of 2022, due to the impact of the public sector decarbonisation scheme. Work was also underway to electrify the waste services fleet of vehicles.

Councillor Sames agreed to submit an update on the carbon management action plan to the September 2022 meeting of the Committee, as well as scheduling further climate change updates as required.   

Resolved

(1)       That the presentation be noted.

(2)       That Executive be advised that Overview and Scrutiny Committee endorse and support the ‘One Planet Living’ approach.

(3)       That the Carbon Management Plan be submitted to the September meeting of the committee.

(4)       That further updates on Climate Change work be submitted to the committee as work progresses.