Minutes:
The Climate Change Officer presented the draft Climate Change Action Plan.
It was noted that the governance route for the draft was be discussed at the Joint Executive Advisory Board meeting on 10 November before being considered for adoption by the Executive on 24 November.
A forward for the document needed to be written and it was felt that either the Chairman as Lead Councillor for Climate Change and/or the Leader of the Council with the Joint Chief Executive would be appropriate.
This was to be an outward facing, external public document and as such was presented to be accessible to all using basic language and assuming no prior knowledge of the issues and terminology. It was suggested a technical summary might be included.
The policy contexts ran from global to local, going on to explain the intentions and position of the Council and how those objectives would be achieved including working with residents, business and partner agencies. The draft was comprehensive and set out finance projections, deliverables, reviews and governance routes.
Greenhouse gas emissions data had been drawn from national statistics but would be updated with APSE data as and when there was an update or revision. In this aspect it was a working document. There had been revisions in carbon measurements over the years and this was explained within the test, for example from 2018 agriculture had been included in carbon calculations.
The draft had drawn from Waverley Borough Council’s action plan which had been commended in national rankings as well as the SCC Greener Futures programme and the Council’s existing High Level Action Plan.
It was reported that transport plans around the country were being revisited for low carbon and there were opportunities for Government funding. Where possible the Council might invest sufficiently to get projects ready to attract such funding.
Social equity and a just transition might be highlighted in the draft as something the Council was aware of and incorporating into plans. It was suggested the Council might work with the University and public health partners in this regard.
It had been proposed that an officer working group be set up to review the actions in the draft plan and to identify ownership across the Council and what work was already underway. This group would feedback to update the draft plan.
The matter of any Climate Assembly being run by the Council was subject to a mandate evaluation process and was included in the draft action plan at 8.4.
It was noted that ’buy-in’ for the action plan was vital and needed to be obtained at the highest level of the Council to be successful. The action plan should be a ‘living’ document with actions being moved to an action log and new actions added over time and reflective of changing technologies etc.
It was understood a local walking and cycling infrastructure project would be developed with SCC, probably under the Greener Futures programme and the Council should take every opportunity to promote that work.
Any further comments were to be emailed to the Climate Change Officer and to copy in the rest of the Board.
The Climate Change Officer was commended for the work.