Issue - meetings

To scrutinise the Climate and Nature Emergency Plan Annual Report 2024/25.

Resolved:

1.         To accept the report, noting the observations made during the discussion.

2.         To recommend to the Cabinet Member for Environment that there is a need to revisit the Council's ambition to be net zero by 2030 and that consideration should be given to setting a realistic target for reducing carbon emissions.

The report was presented by the Cabinet Member for the Environment and the Climate Change Programme Manager.

It was reported that the Climate and Nature Emergency Plan had now completed its third year of operation. Statistics were presented on the amount of carbon being absorbed by Council lands as well as the carbon emissions, explaining that there was an 18,132,729 kgC0ze deficit to reach a net zero carbon position. They elaborated on carbon emissions, including from procurement, during the year 2024/25 and explained that the procurement information was based on financial expenditure in accordance with the Welsh Government's requirements, rather than the actual impact of the developments. They confirmed that discussions were taking place to ensure that the information on carbon emissions is not based on financial expenditure in future, as this led to a false impression of the true situation as the costs of goods continually increased. They also provided an update on carbon emission levels excluding the financial expenditure from procurement, as this gave a clearer and more accurate picture of the Council's actual position.

It was confirmed that all Local Authorities and public bodies in Wales used the same formula for measuring their carbon emissions. It was explained that this system had been in place since 2019 and that that year was being used as a baseline for subsequent years. They expressed pride that the Council's carbon emissions had reduced by 32% since 2019. They acknowledged that the statistics for the year 2023/24 showed an increase of 4% and explained that this increase stemmed from having to use more gas to heat the Council's buildings due to cold weather.

It was noted that work had been undertaken on several of the Council's buildings, for insulation and ensuring they contributed less to carbon emission levels. They confirmed that there was not a full year's worth of data available at present to be able to analyse the data from that work, but it was likely to be included in future reports.

During the debate, the following observations were made by the Members:-

In response to enquiries for further information on how the Council was encouraging greater biodiversity within the Land Use section of the Emergency Plan, the Programme Manager confirmed that a roadside wildflower scheme was contributing to this aim. It was elaborated that the plan to plant more wildflowers had begun during the National Eisteddfod campaign in Boduan in 2023 and they confirmed that the Council had plans to extend it to the Meirionnydd area in the future. It was ensured that the seeds for wildflowers were planted during the autumn season, and they also emphasised that no weed-killers with harmful chemicals were used. It was confirmed that analytical work was underway to measure how much carbon this project was absorbing and data on how much it contributed to biodiversity levels. In response to the comments, it was suggested that the Council look into conducting a pilot on the Foamstream weed-killer, like other authorities, as it was a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5