To
scrutinise the Climate and Nature Emergency Plan: Annual Report 2023/24 as part
of the Cyngor Gwynedd Plan 2023-28 – A Green Gwynedd.
Decision:
Resolved:
1.
To accept the report, noting the observations made during the
discussion.
2.
To recommend that more information should be included in the Annual
Report about what is responsible for the carbon emissions percentages.
3.
That the committee scrutinises the conclusions of the review of the
Climate and Nature Emergency Plan prior to being considered by the Cabinet.
4.
To request that the Council Leader lobbies the Welsh Government in the
context of reviewing the methodology of measuring carbon emissions that derive
from procurement processes.
Minutes:
The report
was presented by the Leader of the Council, the Chief Executive and Climate
Change Programme Manager.
Members
were reminded that a Climate and Nature Emergency Plan was adopted by Cabinet
on 8 March 2022 with the ambition that 'Cyngor Gwynedd will be carbon net zero
and ecologically positive by 2030'. It was added that the issue of responding
to a climate change crisis was one of the priorities of 'Improving the Council'
within the 2023-28 Cyngor Gwynedd Plan.
It was
explained that the Council's carbon emissions had been reduced by 16% compared
to the baseline established in 2019/20, including procurement. It was
recognised that carbon emissions from procurement processes presented a
challenge to achieving this ambition as it was purely expenditure-based and did
not take into account the locations where the Council
purchased goods. It was noted that this painted a misleading picture of the
true impact of climate expenditure.
It was
noted that £3million had been earmarked for the creation of a Climate Plan fund
through the one-time revenue bid process. An update was provided that £792,015
remained in this fund at the end of December 2024 as £2,207,984 had been spent
or earmarked for expenditure. It was explained that this expenditure included
£500,000 on electric car charging points and £2.1million on a low carbon
heating scheme.
It was
explained that issues relevant to the Plan were developing rapidly and that it
was timely to consider reviewing the Plan. Members were encouraged to share any
appropriate ideas and developments to consider them when reviewing the Plan.
During the
discussion, the following observations were made: -
Reference
was made to the proposed review of the Plan. It was proposed and seconded that
conclusions from the Plan review be submitted to this Committee when timely so
that the Committee could provide input before submitting the review to the
Cabinet.
It was
asked whether the Board was effectively realising the needs of the objectives
of the Plan, or whether other options need to be considered to ensure that the
ambition was addressed. The Chief Executive noted that the review of this Plan
would assess whether the projects that are in place are sufficient to meet the
ambition, or whether new plans need to be developed. It was added that other
aspects of the Plan would be assessed to consider if it was fit for purpose, to
save money and protect services. It was also confirmed that consideration would
be given to establish if the Board was the best vehicle to drive the Plan
forward or if there was a need to re-consider the structure.
It was
noted that investing in schemes to reduce carbon emissions had saved the Council
a great deal of money. The Council was encouraged to continue to invest in
these schemes in the future.
It was
asked how this Committee or Elected Members could help lobby the Government in
relation to the challenges of the Procurement processes to call for a change to
how procurement was recorded in the pursuit of reducing carbon emissions. In
response to the comments, the Climate Change Programme Manager confirmed that
work was being undertaken to reduce carbon emissions in the procurement field
despite challenges within the processes. It was detailed that officers were
working with Business Wales to hold specific seminars within the care field to
see how they could reduce their carbon emissions. It was elaborated that
support was available for external providers to encourage them to de-carbonise,
in the hope that they would see the benefit of this. Pride was expressed that
most providers working with the Council within the care area see value from
these schemes but that financial challenges were preventing some companies from
realising the changes.
Reference
was made to the chart on page 8 of the annual report which demonstrated that
'Buildings' were responsible for 45% of carbon emissions (excluding
procurement) during 2023/24. It was noted that it would be useful to have more
detailed data to be able to identify what challenges were contributing to
carbon emissions. It was thought that detailing this data would lead to
solutions to the current challenges.
It was
noted that the Report confirmed that the construction of solar panel farms had
been removed from the Plan due to financial issues. It was mentioned this would
have had a major impact on the area's landscape, and it was considered whether
the Council had considered putting solar panels on other locations such as on
buildings or car parks. In response to the comments, the Chief Executive
confirmed that not all areas were suitable for solar panels
but extended work was being carried out on car parks to install solar panels in
appropriate spaces.
It was
highlighted that the Report identified an 11% increase in carbon emissions from
street lighting since 2022/23. In response to the comments, the Chief Executive
confirmed that this figure has increased this year due to the Council
inheriting more street lighting following developments such as the Caernarfon
bypass. It was confirmed that this figure was expected to fall by the next
annual report.
Reference
was made to integrated public transport plans as part of the Plan's 'Moving and
Transport' priority, noting that bus timetables were creating problems in some
communities. It was detailed that residents' confidence in using public
transport needed to be gained, by confirming that bus timetables allow them to
come and go from the workplace, socialise and travel around with certainty in order to increase the use made of the services. It was
also considered that this would discourage residents from buying personal cars
as public transport addressed their needs.
Comments
were noted which questioned the need to try to reduce carbon emissions. In
response, it was confirmed that the Council had decided to strive to make the
Plan a reality in line with the recommendations of experts.
It was
asked how much of the money saved by implementing the Scheme's projects was
invested back into the Plan for funding future projects. In response, the Chief
Executive confirmed that the money saved was not currently being reinvested in
the scheme due to the current financial pressures on the Council. However, it
had been confirmed that the financial saving was being made to ensure that
other services offered by the Council were protected when trying to cope with
the situation.
It was
asked what developments were underway in connection with the Council's 'Green
Fleet' plan. In response to the query, the Chief Executive confirmed that
consideration was being given to see if the Council's fleet could be reduced by
considering what jobs required their use and what impact reducing the fleet
would have on services provided by the Council. It was also noted that efforts
were being made to purchase electric vehicles when replacing vehicles
but it was acknowledged that this could currently be done for all vehicles,
such as waste collection lorries. It was ensured that all Council electric
vehicles would be charged at the centres where the vehicles were stored and
there would be no expectation for any member of staff to do so in a personal
household.
Several
ideas which could be developed as part of the future Plan
were shared, such as letting the Rural Energy Developments (DEG) social
enterprise to rent car parks from the Council for the installation of solar
panels with the agreement that they would sell the electricity to the Council
at a discounted price. Reference was also made to community energy enterprises
stating that working with these would be able to benefit the Plan. In response
to these ideas, the Chief Executive confirmed they would be considered and he
welcomed that community energy enterprises and other organisations be invited
to attend Board meetings to share information and presentations.
The members
expressed their thanks for the report.
RESOLVED
1. To accept the report, noting the observations made during the
discussion.
2. To recommend that more information should be included in the Annual
Report regarding what was responsible for the carbon emissions percentages.
3. That the committee scrutinises the conclusions of the review of the
Climate and Nature Emergency Plan prior to being considered by the Cabinet.
4. To request that the Council Leader lobbies the Welsh Government in the
context of reviewing the methodology of measuring carbon emissions that derive
from procurement processes.
Supporting documents: