Agenda item

To consider the report of the Climate Emergency Task & Finish Group.

The Committee considered the report of the Climate Emergency Task and Finish Group set out at Agenda pages 23 to 50.

Alison Swaddle, Chairman of the Task and Finish Group, introduced the report and outlined the work of the Group over the past five months in scrutinising the Council’s Climate Emergency Action Plan. The Group had interviewed the Executive Member and a number of Officers in addition to external experts.

The Group’s overall conclusion was that the Action Plan was an ambitious document underpinned by a significant budget and a clear governance structure. The Action Plan was in line with best practice across the country. However, there were a number of areas where more work was required to strengthen the Action Plan and to ensure that the governance structure delivered rigorous challenge and effective scrutiny.

The Task and Finish Group report contained 13 recommendations as follows:

1)    That the Council work with schools, businesses and community stakeholders to develop a Vision for a Net Zero Borough, with indicators and milestones to demonstrate progress;

2)    That the annual progress report on the Climate Emergency Action Plan include recognition of the levels of non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions in the Borough and progress achieved in delivering reductions through the sequestration measures in place;

3)    That the Council’s key decision reports include a section on Climate Emergency to ensure that the issue is mainstreamed into the decision making process. This must include a transparent, calculated carbon impact assessment of the proposal rather than a generic comment such as “in line with the Climate Emergency Action Plan”;

4)    That, as part of the 2021 progress report on the Action Plan, the Council commission an independent carbon accounting audit of the Action Plan’s targets, methodology and underlying assumptions;

5)    That the six monthly update of the Action Plan, in January 2021, address the gaps and errors in the current version;

6)    That the annual update report on the Action Plan include estimates of consumption emissions, progress of measures aimed at increasing awareness of these emissions and individual responsibilities such as the promotion of local sustainable sourcing options for food, goods and services;

7)    That future iterations of the Action Plan set out SMART targets to reduce car usage, thereby tackling traffic congestion, and demonstrate how the Council is working with neighbouring authorities, the Local Enterprise Partnership, bus and rail operators to deliver transport solutions and a transport network and infrastructure which focuses on active travel and public transport;

8)    That a further report be submitted to the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee, setting out the business case for the Green Bank Project, including an assessment of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the viability of the project;

9)    That the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee scrutinise the impact of the Local Plan Update on the Climate Emergency as part of its review of the new Local Plan later in 2020/21;

10) That the Council establish and publish details of the amount of land available for sequestration and renewable energy projects by surveying the Borough, in conjunction with Town and Parish Councils, to identify opportunities for tree planting, solar farms and other green projects;

11) That the annual update report on the Action Plan:

·           Emphasise the relative significance of WBC’s organisational footprint in any discussion of WBC’s estate and facilities;

·           Provide details of progress on the Council’s journey to becoming a Net Zero organisation, including investment, procurement and supply chains;

·           Outline the measures taken to protect individuals, families and groups most at risk from the impact of climate change and provide details of the outcomes;

·           Include a risk register, setting out the major risks (including the impact of third party action and non-action);

·           Include an assessment methodology which measures the likelihood (as a %) of success or failure for each item;

12) That, in light of the increasing number and complexity of initiatives aimed at tackling the Climate Emergency, consideration be given to strengthening the in-house team, especially in relation to “number crunching” of carbon reductions and project costs;

13) That the Action Plan recognises the important role played by Towns and Parishes across the Borough in moving to Net Zero and commits to working in meaningful partnership to develop and support local initiatives which turn new ideas into positive action on the ground.

The Committee considered the detailed recommendations and commented as follows:

Could the proposed Vision for Net Zero be given greater prominence in the Council’s Community Vision for Wokingham Borough, agreed in February 2020? Rhian Hayes commented that this suggestion would be considered by Officers.

The report highlighted the importance of behaviour change in delivering carbon reductions. What steps were being taken to encourage behaviour change amongst residents? Rhian commented that Officers were considering the potential for a Citizens Assembly in order to increase awareness and engage with residents.

Could the report’s recommendations be amended to include reference to the fact that implementation of the Action Plan should not have any detrimental impact on other environmental issues such as air pollution. As an example, the burning of biomass can impact on air quality. The Committee felt that a new recommendation should be introduced as follows:

“That implementation of the Action Plan be monitored to ensure that any actions did not have a detrimental impact on other environmental issues such as air quality”.

Whilst the Climate Emergency Action Plan contained a significant number of projects, Members felt that it would benefit from some more definitive timescales and milestones. The Committee felt that the second bullet point in current Recommendation 11 in the report should be amended to read:

“Provide details of progress on the Council’s journey to becoming a Net Zero organisation, including timelines for key activities and progress relating to investment, procurement and supply chains”.

In relation to Recommendation 3 in the report, Members felt the wording should be amended to emphasise that the impact of climate change should be considered in all the Council’s activities. The Committee felt that current Recommendation 3 should be amended to read:

That the Council consider the impact of climate change on all its actions with key decision reports including a section on Climate Emergency to ensure that the issue is mainstreamed into the decision making process. This must include a transparent, calculated carbon impact assessment of the proposal rather than a generic comment such as “in line with the Climate Emergency Action Plan”.

Members felt that Recommendation 7 in the report would be strengthened by the inclusion of reference to “community stakeholders” in the list pf partners to be engaged with. The Committee felt that current Recommendation 7 in the report should be amended to read:

“That future iterations of the Action Plan set out SMART targets to reduce car usage, thereby tackling traffic congestion, and demonstrate how the Council is working with neighbouring authorities, the Local Enterprise Partnership, bus and rail operators and other community stakeholders to deliver transport solutions and a transport network and infrastructure which focuses on active travel and public transport”.

RESOLVED That:

1)     the Climate Emergency Task and Finish Group report, as amended, be submitted to the Executive for consideration at its meeting in October 2020;

2)     any feedback from the Executive on the Task and Finish Group report be submitted to the Committee in due course.