Agenda item

The committee will receive a presentation on the development of the Climate Change Air Quality Strategy.

Presenters:

Cllr Bill Chapple, Cabinet Member for Environment & Climate Change

Ed Barlow, Head of Energy

David Sutherland, Head of Climate Change & Environment

Steve Bambrick, Service Director Planning & Sustainability

The Chairman invited Cllr B Chapple, Cabinet Member for Environment & Climate Change, to introduce the report to the Select Committee. The Cabinet Member was also joined by Ed Barlow, Energy and Climate Change Manager. The Council wanted to achieve net zero as soon as practicable but by no later than 2050; interim targets are for at least a 75% carbon reduction by 2030 and at least 90% reduction by 2040. The strategy contains 60 actions to reduce both the council’s emissions and those across Buckinghamshire. It was noted that the Government’s national plans would also reduce carbon emissions which include new homes not having gas boilers installed by 2025 and neither new petrol nor diesel vehicles purchasable from 2030. The Cabinet Member highlighted the next steps that were detailed in the report.

Central to the strategy was that the Council had different roles in addressing climate change. These roles were:

        i.            Direct control: reduce emissions, for instance by installing renewable energy systems (e.g. solar panels).

      ii.            Financial/Regulator: influences included using local planning powers to reduce emissions from new developments.

    iii.            Enabling change: enable others to reduce emissions such as active travel plans and providing electric vehicle charging point infrastructure.

     iv.            Inform & influence: raise public awareness of climate change and air quality.

The Council was addressing its emission sources by identifying and implementing renewable energy and energy efficiency measures across the operational estate. The fleet would be addressed as vehicles approached replacement and low carbon alternatives would be considered. There were a number of actions to address non-council emissions in Buckinghamshire. Of note was the approach to work with communities to identify and support local ambition to address climate change. The tree planting programme would last ten years and involved the planting of 543,000 trees across over 200 hectares of land. One hectare would then absorb 300-400 tonnes of CO₂ after 30 years. The scheme also had the added benefit of increased biodiversity, flood alleviation and amenity access for residents. Funds would be set aside for the trees to be maintained. It was estimated that the programme would absorb around 1,500 tonnes per year by 2050. An outline capital programme was in the report which contained measures to reduce emissions. Building measures focused on LED upgrades in buildings, renewables on suitable roofs and improvements to heating systems. Solar car ports were planned which involved the installation of solar panels over open air car parks to provide shade to parked cars whilst generating renewable electricity.  Engagement with Community Boards was ongoing, and there was planned engagement with schools after the local elections.

In response to questions, the following main points were noted:

·         £5m is available in the Climate Change Fund however if more funds became available then consideration would be given on how it would be spent.

·         The Council was limited on asking developers to plant more trees on sites due to the current local plans. Instead, the Council was considering where else trees could be planted. There had been a recent agreement with Highways that any tree they removed would be replaced.

·         One Member felt that the strategy needed more tangible and substantive actions to meet the 75% reduction target by 2030. The Cabinet Member advised that the strategy had been costed and did intend to meet the target.

·         The Council was aware of the difference in carbon production in the manufacturing of electric vehicles compared to combustion engine vehicles. Electric vehicles would only be used if they were suitable for the Council’s operational purpose. It was expected that the carbon impact of electric vehicles would reduce once their production became more efficient. There would also be value in used electric vehicle batteries to support the electricity grid as part of the balancing mechanism.

·         Two Members had attended recent Community Board subgroup meetings where the Cabinet Member attended to discuss local need.

·         Tree planting had focused on Council land for process simplicity and 20 sites had been identified. Planting would commence in the next tree planting season which was between December 2021 – March 2022. The Forestry Commission had been consulted to calculate the right level of planting. The right trees would be planted in the right places to assist with carbon absorption, flood management and biodiversity.

·         Residents could be encouraged to plant trees in their own gardens however this may not be a suitable long-term solution as the trees needed to reach maturity for higher carbon absorption rates.

·         One Member commended the spacing that would be used in the tree planting scheme which meant that the trees would mature.

·         The alternative to using the energy from waste site at Greatmoore for residual waste was utilising landfill. Usage of the site enabled less than 1% of waste to go to landfill. The emissions from Greatmoore was a by-product of the generated energy which was enough to power 40,000 households. The development of carbon capture technology would be monitored with the potential to install this at Greatmoore by 2050.

·         Following the carbon audit, the strategy did outline Council emission sources using tonnes per year and percentage of total as metrics.

·         There would be annual reporting on the strategy to monitor it and it was expected to be seriously reviewed every five years due to technological advancements.

·         Technical advice notes could be used to encourage developers to plant more trees and consider energy efficiency as planning policy could not be changed at this stage. These advice notes may be introduced within the next year. The Council was also considering further use of supplementary planning documents (SPDs) to expand policies within the local plan, with one recently being used in Princes Risborough. It would be investigated whether or not technical advice notes counted as a material consideration in planning.

Action: Mr Ed Barlow

The Chairman thanked the Cabinet Member and Ed Barlow for attending, and expected that a strategy update would come to the Select Committee in future.