Issue - meetings

To consider and approve the Climate and Nature Emergency Plan: Annual Report 2024/25.

The report was presented by Cllr Craig ab Iago.

DECISION

To accept the report.

DISCUSSION

The member was proud of the work that had been undertaken over a number of years, noting that the Council was at the forefront in this field.

It was noted that the period of this annual report covered the third year of operation for the Plan.

He drew attention to the fact that the Report set out how the Council responded to Section 6 of the Environment (Wales) Act 2016 in each chapter.

He explained that there had been an increase in the levels of carbon emissions since the previous year. It was stated that it may be misleading to make one-year comparisons in a field where long-term action was required. It was reiterated that the work carried out by the department would take time to come to fruition.

It was confirmed that this Report had already received comments from the Communities Scrutiny committee, which were included in the Report, but there had been no change to the Report as a result.

Observations arising from the discussion:

·       It was noted that contractors were not statutorily required to collect data on their carbon emissions, but new guidance was on the way to set out how public bodies can help their contractors to collect the data. It was reiterated that it was hoped that the largest contractors would be able to provide carbon management plans, but it would take more time and support for smaller contractors to do so. 

·       A member queried what was being done to reduce the emissions arising from energy use in buildings and from travel. It was explained that heating was responsible for the high emissions from the buildings, because gas was currently the main source of heating for many Council buildings. In terms of travel, it was reiterated that the Council's fleet of electric cars had grown. As there were no suitable electric vehicles available for HGVs, there was not much the Council could do in this area at the moment.

·       The Cabinet Member for the Environment was asked for his response to the Scrutiny Committee's recommendation. He expressed that he does not believe targets were appropriate here, adding that he would like to find another way to ensure that the work was achieved, without setting unrealistic targets. The need to be ambitious and pioneering was emphasised.

·       It was pointed out that the project's funding had almost run out, and it was questioned what plans were there to attract more funding to implement the project. It was noted that internal discussions were taking place and added that the Plan relied on being able to attract a number of grants.

Reference was made to the lack of suitable charging points in the area, questioning what were the challenges that prevented the Council from being able to increase this number across Gwynedd. It was confirmed that the Council was not responsible for the infrastructure to be able to offer a large number of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11