Agenda item

Climate Change

The Chairman advised that the following Motion had been submitted and was consequently moved by Mr M Tett and seconded by Mr B Chapple.

 

This council notes that Climate Change is a global emergency. Whilst the UK constitutes only 1% of global carbon emissions (with China, India and the USA constituting over 50%) it is important that the UK plays its part in leading the way. This change must come both within the UK but also globally.

 

This council meeting therefore believes that mitigating Climate Change should be a priority for the new council. This should form an integral part of the council’s ambitious approach to the environment and ensuring the maintenance and enhancement of all that makes Buckinghamshire special.

 

Council therefore proposes that the Cabinet produce proposals to work alongside national Government with the objective to achieve net carbon zero for Buckinghamshire as a whole by 2050. The council should also evaluate reaching ‘net zero’ for its own emissions no later than 2050 and possibly before this, potentially by 2030, subject to resources.

 

These proposals to include, but not be limited to:

 

• Introducing Supplementary Planning Guidance that requires all new development to contribute to the net zero target via energy efficiency
• Proactively providing for sustainable transport.
• Working with the Buckinghamshire Local Enterprise Partnership to raise awareness of the importance of working towards meeting zero carbon targets and investing in new ‘Green’ business and industry proposals.
• Extensive Carbon offset via new tree planting in partnership with communities and utilising the council’s own assets.
• Working with suppliers to develop a pathway to zero carbon emissions.
• Encouraging Community Boards to lead in their localities for carbon reduction.
• Working with partners and local communities to identify local schemes that can contribute to this ambition.

 

Mr Tett explained the reasoning behind the motion and noted that urgent action had to be taken to tackle this global threat. Mr Tett advised that although the UK was responsible for around 1% of carbon emissions it nevertheless had an important part to play in carbon reduction. 2050 was described as a challenging target to become net zero and carbon reduction was a priority outlined in the Council’s Corporate Plan.

 

Mr Chapple added that the motion addressed the issue in an honest and practical way and represented a realisation of the journey the Council had to take. Mr Chapple explained that in order to avoid mass unemployment and a recession, it was going to take time for industries and services to make the changes required.  It was noted that air quality had improved over the lockdown period but in parallel the lockdown had led to significant employment losses and financial struggles for residents and businesses. Mr Chapple advised that a change of culture was also required and this was likely to take a generation.  Mr Chapple ended by stating that a collective approach must be taken to both reduce carbon emissions and keep Buckinghamshire a healthy and pleasant place to live in.

 

An amendment to this motion was proposed by Councillor D Lyons and seconded by Councillor M Bezzant, this amendment was as follows.

 

This council notes that Climate Change is a global emergency. This should form an integral part of the council’s ambitious approach to the environment and ensuring the maintenance and enhancement of all that makes Buckinghamshire special, and be a key consideration in decision-making across all other council functions and policy areas.

Council therefore proposes that the Cabinet produce proposals to work alongside national Government with the objective to achieve net carbon zero for Buckinghamshire as a whole as

soon as possible. The council will set a target for reducing the carbon emissions from its

own activities to net zero by 2030 and will devise a strategy for achieving this and a dated

plan for stepped reductions over the next ten years. The council will publish this action

plan by February 2021.”

These proposals to include, but not be limited to:

• Introducing Supplementary Planning Guidance that requires all new development to contribute to the net zero target via energy efficiency
• Proactively providing for sustainable transport.
• Working with the Buckinghamshire Local Enterprise Partnership to raise awareness of the importance of working towards meeting zero carbon targets and investing in new ‘Green’ business and industry proposals.
• Extensive Carbon offset via new tree planting in partnership with communities and utilising the council’s own assets.
• Working with suppliers to develop a pathway to zero carbon emissions.
• Encouraging Community Boards to lead in their localities for carbon reduction.
• Working with partners and local communities to identify local schemes that can contribute to this ambition.

Mr Lyons explained the reason for the suggested amendment which was that evidence suggested that 2030 should be the target and quick, decisive action should be taken. Other councils had adopted the 2030 target and Mr Lyons emphasised the need for this target to be endorsed to support Buckinghamshire’s future generations. Mr Bezzant, in seconding the amendment, said that Buckinghamshire should be bold and ambitious in its commitment and taking a lead toward carbon neutrality.

 

The debate on the proposed amendment ensued:

 

Mr Chapple responded to the amendment stating that 2050 remained a challenging date and that the Council needed to be realistic. Mr Lambert spoke on the amendment advising that there were factual inaccuracies in the original motion and made reference to international programmes which included nature based employment schemes and transition funds for green jobs. With a lack of policies and funds Mr Lambert said that any target would be difficult to meet and that an upcoming report on the carbon audit to cabinet indicates that this motion was premature and unambitious.

 

Mr Stuchbury spoke on the amendment emphasising the challenge of climate change and the importance of a 2030 target. Should the date be 2030, plans would become increasingly ambitious and the younger generation would be grateful were the Council to opt for this target.

 

Mr Tett explained that the global situation was critical and the UK had responsibility to encourage others to reduce use. Buckinghamshire Council was much larger than other district councils who had already adopted the 2030 target and covered a wider range of service areas such as waste collection, Transport for Buckinghamshire and home to school transport amongst others. The Council must deliver services in a cost-effective way and Mr Tett advised that he wished to bring an action plan back in February 2021 which would be a difficult task in itself due to the current period of uncertainty brought about by the pandemic.

 

The threshold was met for a recorded vote to be taken on whether to accept the amendment, with the votes being cast as follows:

 

For (31): Councillors: K Ahmed, M Asif, A Bacon, M Bateman, M Bezzant, A Christensen, P Cooper, R Farmer, M A Hashmi, D Hayday, T Hunter-Watts, Majid Hussain, N Hussain, A Huxley, S Jarvis, P Jones, P Kelly, R Khan, M Knight, S Lambert, T Lee, D Lyons, L Monger, S Morgan, B Pearce, R Raja, S Raven, J Read, Mike Smith, R Stuchbury, and J Wassell

 

Against (110): Councillors: B Adams, C Adams, J Adey, S Adoh, D Anthony, M Appleyard, R Bagge, D Barnes, P Bastiman, B Bendyshe-Brown, J Bloom, A Bond, S Bowles, M Bradford, C Branston, D Bray, S Broadbent, N Brown, H Bull, J Burton, T Butcher, D Carroll, B Chapple, S Chapple, J Chilver, C Clare, A Collingwood, A Cranmer, E Culverhouse, I Darby, M Davy, D Dhillon, T Egleton, C Etholen, B Everitt, P Fealey, M Flys, C Ford, B Foster, B Gibbs, N Glover, T Green, G Hall, M Harker, G Harris, M Harris, C Harriss, M Harrold, P Hogan, A Hussain, Mahboob Hussain, C Jackson, D Johncock, C Jones, R Jones, J Jordan, R King, J MacBean, A Macpherson, W Mallen, D Martin, P Martin, V Martin, H McCarthy, I McEnnis, G Moore, H Mordue, N Naylor, R Newcombe, R Newman, C Oliver, S Patel, C Paternoster, G Peart, D Pepler, C Poll, G Powell, S K Raja, S Renshell, B Roberts, J Rush, S Saddique, G Sandy, R Sangster, M Shaw, D Smith, L Smith, Michael Smith, N Southworth, Sir B Stanier, M Stannard, P Strachan, N Teesdale, M Tett, A Turner, P Turner, N Varley, A Waite, H Wallace, L Walsh, J Ward, J Waters, D Watson, J Wertheim, W Whyte, A Wight, G Williams, R Wilson, M Winn and K Wood

 

Abstained (6): Councillors: J Brandis, A Cole, P Irwin, S Jenkins, T Mills, and R Scott

 

The amendment to the motion therefore fell.

 

Debate then ensued on the motion as originally set out.

 

Mr Lambert highlighted the huge economic challenge the Council, and UK as a whole faced, and promoted a recovery plan with green jobs. Partnership working had been strong during the Covid response and continuing this work would have supported working toward the 2030 target. Mr Lambert added that the Council should be ambitious and leading on the push to becoming carbon zero. Mr Lambert advised that there must be some form of nature based response which was severely lacking in this motion.

 

Mr Raja described climate change as an emergency which was evidenced by severe weather conditions worldwide. Mr Raja added that human activity was a contributory factor in increased Co2 levels and believed that Buckinghamshire should be working toward the 2030 target. Mrs Birchley advised that there were significant costs involved in meeting a 2030 target, and gave the examples of the significant costs involved in the Council replacing diesel vehicles providing transport services and installing additional electronic charging points. Mrs Birchley referenced new properties being built which were energy efficient and noted that whilst 2050 was the target, everything possible should be done to become net zero before this.

 

Mr Clare said that the motion reached out beyond the Council’s own operations and reached residents and businesses more widely. The Council wanted businesses to follow its lead and reduce their carbon output to net zero and this could only be done through leadership and taking residents on the same journey. The target was ambitious and the plan was backed by action. The carbon audit would outline what the Council would do to reduce emissions and lead the rest of Buckinghamshire.

 

Mr Monger advised that 2050 remained unambitious and the motion should be about what the Council itself could do to look at delivering net carbon zero by 2030. Mr Raven added that the Council should be leading by example to support younger generations and not working to a target based on international stances.

 

Mr Whyte supported the motion explaining that it was backed by a plan that showed leadership at a local level and that results could be achieved through working with partners to identify local schemes which could contribute to carbon reduction. Mr Winn said that actions had already been taken such as certain streetlights being turned off at night, new homes in the local plan to have electric charging points, tree planting, the Aylesbury Garden Town, the Gateway headquarters which had various energy efficiency measures installed, pop up cycle lanes, and schemes to work in partnership with developers to enhance development for wildlife. Mr Winn added that if resources were available 2030 could still be met as the target date.

 

Mr Tett advised that this was a very strong, positive and progressive motion that really tackled the issue of climate change through a series of key proposals and urged members to support the motion.

 

Resolved:

 

That the original motion as proposed by Mr M Tett, seconded by Mr B Chapple be approved.

 

 

It was further resolved:

 

That due to time constraints, the Chairman agreed that the remaining two motions as set out below on equalities and planning and parish councils respectively be deferred to the next meeting of full council on 16 September 2020.

 

Equalities

 

·         In the context of current concerns, this council reaffirms its commitment to the key principles of: equality of opportunity; and equal treatment and consideration under the law.

·         Repeated surveys have shown that over 80% of Buckinghamshire residents have a strong sense of belonging to their local area. Within Buckinghamshire this council wishes to see the strong, positive relationships between people of all backgrounds and ethnicities maintained and strengthened. This council therefore asks that Cabinet bring forward an ‘Integrated Communities’ strategy, building upon the ‘Strengthening Our Communities’ theme in our Corporate Plan. It also asks that partners and stakeholders are engaged in this process.

·         Also, Council asks that the Cabinet engages with the Buckinghamshire NHS as it develops its response to the comprehensive review ‘Disparities in the risk and outcomes of COVID-19’. This specifically identified the greater risks to people of BAME heritage, but also to people who were over 80 years of age, males, and those with caring occupations. Council asks that the Cabinet supports the Buckinghamshire NHS in developing proposals on how it intends to keep those at greatest risk safe, and reviews progress via the Health and Wellbeing Board.

 

Planning and Parish Councils

 

We propose that the Council should undertake a consultation with town and parish councils, in order to evaluate the effectiveness of their engagement with the planning department, following changes to the planning consultation process in the Buckinghamshire Council constitution. The outcomes of this consultation and evaluation exercise and any recommendations resulting from it, should be presented to Council, prior to the May 2021 elections.