Agenda item

The Climate Change & Air Quality Strategy 2021-2022 Progress Report as presented to Cabinet at its meeting on Tuesday 11 October is attached for the Committee to consider. Also included is a summary of activity against the 60 actions in the Climate Change and Air Quality Strategy.

Contributors:

Councillor Gareth Williams, Cabinet Member for Climate Change & Environment

Councillor Jilly Jordan, Deputy Cabinet Member for Environment

Ian Thompson, Corporate Director for Planning, Growth & Sustainability

Steve Bambrick, Service Director for Planning & Environment

Ed Barlow, Head of Climate Change & Environment

Alexander Beckett, Energy & Climate Change Manager

The Chairman welcomed the Deputy Cabinet Member for Environment, Councillor J Jordan, to the meeting and invited her to present the report to the Committee. The Deputy Cabinet Member outlined the Council’s important role in controlling and reducing its emissions, and that all the Cabinet Member portfolios were engaged in this process. The Council also had an influencing role over its subcontractors and communities.

Compared to the 1990 baseline, the Council had reduced its carbon output by 70% and in 2021/22, the Council was responsible for 6,095 tonnes of greenhouse gas. The Council was on track towards its target of reducing its emissions by 75% by 2030. The Deputy Cabinet Member highlighted a number of Council actions and initiatives and outlined the success of the team in securing £10.3m funding from grant sources to progress initiatives.

The following points were noted during the Select Committee discussion:

• Although the Council was closing in on its 75% reduction in emissions by 2030, the progress on this could vary year to year, for instance by an excessively cold winter. To reach 100% by 2030 would require significant acceleration of expenditure.
• Funding of £7.4m that had been secured was split across three programmes:
  • Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery Scheme (GHGLAD) 1b – this completed earlier in 2022.
  • GHGLAD 2 – this completed in September 2022. The confirmed number of retrofits was being calculated.
  • Sustainable Warmth – currently active until March 2023. 
• As per Government guidance on third parties, Veolia had not been included in the council’s carbon emission calculations as they reported their own figures to national Government.
• Grant funding from Defra to create air quality toolkits for Community Boards would assist tackling the issue of engine idling in problematic areas. The toolkits would help by raising awareness of air quality locally and include an air quality sensor to record air pollution levels. Additionally, the service was able to assist with queries on any potential local schemes via climatechange@buckinghamshire.gov.uk to ensure local organisations worked efficiently.
• Consideration would be given on how to maximise Member turnout of future education programmes planned by the service. Members agreed the importance of this and suggestions from the Select Committee included day and evening events as well as the possibility to make the sessions mandatory.
• The council’s target and carbon budget were based on a carbon audit baseline that had been carried out during the council’s unitary formulation to calculate the legacy councils’ emissions. The target and budget needed to balance the need to be timely and deliverable with calculations taking into account assumptions on council buildings, the fleet and the tree planting programme. The Council followed the Government approach of having multi-year carbon budgets to take into account annual fluctuation.
• The Pension Fund Committee was best placed to consider and influence the environmental impact of investment funds.
• The Council engaged with Highways England regarding fund streams available on the strategic road network and both organisations wanted to reach net-zero by 2050. The Council was a consultee on upcoming schemes at Bisham Roundabout and Handy Cross which aimed to improve flow and ease congestion.

The Chairman thanked the Deputy Cabinet Member and the officers for the annual report and acknowledged the work that had been carried out under the Strategy.