Agenda item

Climate Emergency Action Plan 2021

Minutes:

Councillor Sue Dann (Cabinet Member for Environment and Street Scene), Councillor Mark Coker (Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Infrastructure) and Paul Barnard (Service Director for Strategic Planning and Infrastructure) presented the Climate Emergency Action Plan 2021.

 

The Climate Emergency Action Plan set out the strategic direction for the City Council and its partners in relation to climate change for Plymouth.  It was a demonstration of the City Council’s commitment to lead the city towards net zero carbon by 2030. The Climate Emergency Action Plan 2021 was a dynamic, living document that was prepared annually.  The Plan maintained the five key areas for action established by the first plan to ensure that it was fit for purpose as actions were ramped up through the three strategic phases of the journey to zero carbon emissions by 2030.

 

Initially, the response to the climate emergency required quick and decisive action to reverse the ongoing increases in carbon emissions.  This period of activity was identified as the ‘emergency response phase’. There were to further stages identified in the journey towards net zero carbon.  The ‘transitional phase’ would focus on the delivery of more substantial carbon reduction projects, a reshaping of policy and a realignment of resources to meet the 2030 net zero carbon challenge.  The final phase, known as the ‘acceleration phase’, will drive a significant shift towards net zero carbon living, working and travelling, ramping up still further decarbonisation actions and initiatives.

 

The Climate Emergency Action Plan 2021 was intended to be the last of the current ‘emergency phase’. It outlined over 80 realistic, achievable and deliverable actions the City Council was committed to delivering during 2021, in order to make tangible progress in this period of urgent response.  In 2020, the City Council, in partnership with a number of external partners, helped to establish the Plymouth Net Zero Partnership, a resilient governance structure that would support joint working between key public and private sector partners to drive the actions needed to achieve net zero by 2030. Detailed case studies provided by partners in the Plymouth Net Zero Partnership had been included in this second Climate Emergency Action Plan to illustrate the growing momentum behind climate emergency work across Plymouth.

 

The following questions were raised by Committee Members –

 

(a)

whether the following could be included -

 

 

 

?

graphs and visual aids to demonstrate the progress of the actions and also cost savings;

 

 

 

 

?

measures against savings in both pounds and carbon;

 

 

 

 

?

figures to demonstrate the advantages of the Energy from Waste facility in providing energy to the Dockyard, providing power to the war ships and eradiating landfill in the city;

 

 

 

 

?

figures on the energy produced by the solar farm in order to demonstrate the cost effectiveness of the scheme;

 

 

(b)

with regard to waste, whether further clarity could be provided relating to the reasons for the substantial increase in waste since 2015, the limitations on the Council, the national picture around the legislation from Government and the future direction of the Plan;

 

 

(c)

whether there was a co-ordinated approach with the other authorities using the incinerator (Devon County and Torbay Councils) in changing behaviours around waste, so as not to impact Plymouth and the work it was undertaking around behavioural changes to reduce, re-use and recycle waste;

 

 

(d)

sought clarification as to whether the hydrogen technology summit being held in the city, later in the year, was the first in the country and whether the use of hydrogen by the haulage sector and bus companies was occurring in other parts of the country, and if so, could best practice be shared with the Council;

 

 

(e)

whether the Council was in discussions with the haulage sector regarding the use of hydrogen;

 

 

(f)

with regard to the district heating schemes, whether consideration had been given for the use of the spare heat produced by the incinerator to be used for the benefit of local people and housing;

 

 

(g)

with regard to mobility, whether future iterations of the plan could include school travel (open streets, regulations to reduce the number of cars used to drop children off) and supporting taxi companies/drivers to switch to electric taxis;

 

 

(h)

whether consideration had been given for the electric charging points to be used by individuals/visitors with mobility scooters;

 

 

(i)

sought clarification on the provisions of the Local Electricity Bill and the Council’s view on the Bill; in particular local authorities being able to register as energy generators, what the Council could do currently and how the Bill could change this;

 

 

(j)

sought clarification on how the new plastic recycling bins would work on land and water.

 

Paul Barnard (Service Director for Strategic Planning and Infrastructure) undertook to -

 

(k)

discuss with the South West Devon Waste Partnership the actions being undertaken by Devon County Council and Torbay Council to change behaviours to reduce the waste being sent to the incinerator, in order to align with Plymouth’s Climate Emergency Plan 2021 to reduce, re-use and recycle within the waste hierarchy;

 

 

(l)

to provide a briefing note to Councillor Wheeler on the use of the spare heat generated from the incinerator to provide local benefits for residents, housing and new housing developments;

 

 

(m)

to provide a response to Councillor Buchan regarding the provisions of the Local Electricity Bill and any opportunities arising from the Bill  for the city.

 

Councillor Mark Coker (Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Infrastructure) undertook to brief Councillor Wheeler regarding the two cycle lanes proposed for St Budeaux.

 

For the reasons set out in the report, the Committee agreed to support and endorse the Climate Emergency Action Plan 2021.

 

Supporting documents: