Issue - meetings
Climate Programme Update
Meeting: 06/01/2025 - Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Item 130)
130 Climate and Ecological Emergency 
PDF 541 KB
Purpose
For the Committee to receive an update on actions under the Climate Programme.
Recommendation
That the Committee notes the actions to-date and the ongoing activity to further embed climate action across all the Council’s activities and agrees any recommendations it wishes to make to Cabinet.
Invited
Councillor Mike McKeown, Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Sustainability
Olivia McGregor, Climate Change and Carbon Reduction Lead
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The report provided the Overview and Scrutiny Committee with an update on actions undertaken as part of the Council’s Climate Programme.
Councillor Mike McKeown, Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Sustainability, introduced the report and highlighted the importance of the issue of climate change and the need for action. The Cabinet Member drew the Committee’s attention to the key points as follows:
- The Council was aiming to reduce its carbon footprint by 80% by 2045.
- Solar panels had been installed at the Council’s Trinity Road offices, saving costs and emissions.
- Ubico had been tasked with creating a decarbonisation programme for its fleet, which was a significant contributor to the Council’s carbon footprint.
- The local plan provided an opportunity to instigate measures to improve climate emergency standards.
- Local households who have already installed solar panels would benefit from £450,000 of lifetime energy savings.
- The South West Net Zero Hub had provided funding for a retrofit home energy efficiency programme.
- Local electricity suppliers were working on a programme of grid upgrades to deal with additional demands on the grid.
- There were plans for a community energy solar farm.
- There was action taking place to reduce emissions across various sectors including farming, business and transport.
The Committee asked about the role of the retrofit officer and commented that there was a lack of understanding about the best approaches to retrofitting buildings, so education was important. The Cabinet Member explained that the aim was to retrofit c. 300 homes and that the officer had experience of delivering training and could give independent advice. The officer would have some level of engagement with social housing providers but their core focus would be on the public.
A Member commented that the jury remained out on electric vehicles and they arguably weren’t the best solution in rural areas. The Cabinet Member responded that there were some concerns about orchestrated misinformation campaigns against electric vehicles and the Council was helping to myth-bust these. For the 35% of homes did not have off-street parking in the District the Council was installing EV chargers in car parks it owns.
In response to a question about government plans to subsidise solar panels, the Cabinet Member stated that solar was a good option for those who could afford it due to the reducing costs of installing solar. The warm homes plan provided funding for low-income households. There was a private members bill in parliament about making solar mandatory on new build properties.
In discussion the Committee also noted that:
- The Council would need to conduct energy audits prior to applying for grants from government, which could include support for solar.
- The Council was still awaiting a response from Brewery Arts about proposals to install solar on their premises.
- A primary focus of the Sustainable Transport Officer would be to add their input into the local plan.
- The Council was speaking to services about embedding climate implications in everything they do. The Council was limited in terms of its resources and needed to ... view the full minutes text for item 130