Agenda item

5.10pm to 6.10pm

The Climate Change Officer attended to present a report updating the Forum about the progress of the Climate Change Action Plan.

It was reported that significant progress had been made in delivering the climate change action plan since the last report. A number of actions in the plan remained delayed but several others were exceeding the commitments laid out in the original plan. The delays were mostly taking place in the waste category, this was partly due to internal disruption and capacity constraints, but mostly because of expected changes in the regulatory framework for waste which were expected following government consultations.

A further six actions had been added to the action plan to support future climate change action and build capacity within the council to meet the goal of becoming a carbon neutral organisation by 2030. The additional actions were designed to develop a firm foundation for future development by increasing council capacity to identify and take effective climate action. The additional actions include:

·      A review of actions to date;

·      Development of a programme of Carbon Literacy training for elected members and officers;

·      Work to develop a pipeline of potential climate change mitigation projects to take advantage of government support;

·      Development of a carbon accounting framework to monitor council emissions and the effectiveness of actions;

·      Work to identify clear decarbonisation pathways for council activities estimating milestones for decarbonisation and identifying potential technologies and support for transition to a low carbon Borough.

Of the 45 actions in the Action Plan, a total of 21 were established within the relevant service delivery teams, 19 were expected to be delivered as originally specified and 5 were expected to be delivered but had taken longer than originally envisaged. No items had been removed from the plan or were expected to require significant additional support.

The Covid pandemic had had a substantial impact on the work carried out to date because of the demands that had placed on local government. This had reduced the capacity of many staff across the Council. It had also had a significant impact on the opportunities for engagement with voluntary groups and the private sector.

Members noted that the Council was commissioning a consultant to complete a report regarding carbon neutral and had gone out to tender. Members asked about the timeframes involved and the Climate Change Officer explained that he though the open tender would go out in early 2022. Members also asked about the budget for the consultants and were informed that £40k had been earmarked due to the size of the report.

Members asked for explanations of acronyms to be included in the Action Plan.

Members enquired whether other Local Authorities, who had refused to acknowledge the climate emergency, were putting every effort into the issue. The Climate Change Officer advised that he had attended a meeting with officers from other Local Authorities and noted that Chesterfield Borough Council (CBC) was far ahead of other councils and many had not put budgets to working to address the climate emergency.

Members enquired when the community sharing and reuse scheme would be open for community groups to be able to put bids in and if there were any bids lined up. The Climate Change Officer advised that the Council was working with Transition Chesterfield for a repair café, outside of the CIL process because of the CIL review taking place. The Deputy Leader noted that community engagement needed to take place to ensure groups across the borough were involved.

Members asked to see the Government’s response to the letter sent by CBC after the climate change emergency had been declared and it was agreed that the Democratic and Scrutiny Officer would distribute the response.

Members enquired whether the transition to the new waste service provider had gone well as the action was rated amber. Members were advised that the action was rated amber due to three different Government consultations which had taken place and were expected to have a significant impact on waste collection.

Members enquired about whether the action relating to installation of LED lighting in CBC premises would only refer to all premises or only the premises in which the council had direct operational responsibility for. The Deputy Leader was not sure that the Council could force tenants to comply and would look to the Government to do the same as they have with gas boilers. The Climate Change Officer noted that concerns regarding commercial properties would be picked up within the Asset Management Strategy which looks at making the buildings climate ready.

RESOLVED –

That the Climate Change Action Plan report be noted.