Issue - meetings

The Climate Change and Air Quality Strategy had been developed following the motion at Council on 15 July 2020 regarding climate change and subsequently approved at Cabinet in February 2021 for further engagement.

The Strategy set out the approach to addressing climate change and air quality across Buckinghamshire, including targets for emissions reduction from the Council’s direct operations.  Further engagement activity had been undertaken since Cabinet last considered this Strategy, the feedback from which had been supportive.

Members were informed that one amendment needed to be made to paragraph 3.11 of the Officers’ report to reflect the current position and for the Strategy moving forward.  As such, paragraph 3.11 should be replaced with the following text:

“We have already made some progress on EV charging but there is more to do.  The Government are also seeking views on accelerating the provision of EV infrastructure as part of their Future of Transport consultation.  To allow us to match this ambition our strategy will look for opportunities to accelerate our own provision based on focused engagement with key stakeholders and partners.  This will ensure we increase provision of EV charging points across Buckinghamshire in a speedy manner.”

RESOLVED –

(1)               That the outcomes of the recent engagement activity be noted.

(2)               That the ongoing work being done to address climate change and reduce carbon emissions in 2020/21 be noted.

(3)               That the Climate Change and Air Quality Strategy be agreed and adopted, subject to the updated information provided on paragraph 3.11 of the Officers’ report.

(4)               That the MTFP be amended to reflect the revenue and capital budgets for the Strategy.

(5)               That Cabinet be provided with an annual update on the implementation of the Strategy.

The Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change introduced a report on the Climate Change and Air Quality Strategy that had been developed following the motion at Council on 15 July 2020 regarding climate change.  It had subsequently been approved at Cabinet in February 2021 for further engagement. Climate change was a global emergency and it was critical that everyone played their part.

The Strategy set out the approach to addressing climate change and air quality across Buckinghamshire, including targets for emissions reduction from the Council’s direct operations.  Further engagement activity had been undertaken since Cabinet last considered this Strategy, the feedback from which had been supportive.

Members were informed that one amendment needed to be made to paragraph 3.11 of the Officers’ report to reflect the current position and for the Strategy moving forward.  As such, paragraph 3.11 should be replaced with the following text:

“We have already made some progress on EV charging but there is more to do.  The Government are also seeking views on accelerating the provision of EV infrastructure as part of their Future of Transport consultation.  To allow us to match this ambition our strategy will look for opportunities to accelerate our own provision based on focused engagement with key stakeholders and partners.  This will ensure we increase provision of EV charging points across Buckinghamshire in a speedy manner.”

The overall strategy was based upon the Council’s ability to control or influence different sources of emissions. The degree of control or influence was reflected in the nature of the actions for an emission source.  The influence had been articulated across four levels / approaches:

(i)                 Direct Control: Where we have direct control, we will take action to reduce emissions, for example by installing renewable energy systems (such as solar panels) on our buildings.

(ii)               Financial / Regulatory Role: Where we have financial or regulatory influence, we will look to use these abilities to reduce emissions, for example using our local planning powers to reduce emissions from new developments.

(iii)             Enabling Change: Where we can enable others to reduce emissions, we will support that change, for example by providing electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

(iv)              Inform and Influence: In other circumstances, we shall seek to inform and influence those who do have control over emissions, for example by raising public awareness of climate change and air quality issues.

The strategy was ambitious with 60 proposed actions across a range of emission sources, with the actions being arranged in sections aligned with the degree of control model – importantly it was a costed and deliverable plan which would put the Council on the path to reducing emissions by 75% by 2030 and 90% by 2040 reaching net zero by no later than 2050 and put Buckinghamshire on a sharper decline than the UK’s national approach:

(a)               The Council’s Emissions – covering how we will reduce our direct emissions.

(b)               Suppliers and Partners – covering how we will work with Community Boards, schools, suppliers and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7