Agenda item

A proposed initial action plan was presented in response to the Council’s declaration of a climate change emergency in February 2020. The declaration confirmed the Council’s aim to reduce its environmental impact and to take steps to become carbon neutral by 2030.

Several potential actions still required scoping to establish business cases before decisions could be made to proceed. The Committee was therefore invited to adopt the initial version of the plan to provide officers with a mandate to conduct the necessary work, and then submit data on significant projects to enable Councillors to make informed decisions.

The initial plan included:

• the strategic priorities informed by Surrey County Council’s Climate Change Strategy, adapted as appropriate for TDC;

·        actions TDC could take to:

-        reduce emissions from the Council’s estate and operations;

-        influence and encourage residents and businesses to reduce their emissions; and

-        work with other agencies to collectively reduce the carbon footprint of Surrey.

It was acknowledged that certain actions could be ‘quick wins’ such as: creating a baseline Council carbon emissions report; conducting a feasibility study into the installation of electric vehicle charging points in the Council’s car parks; and producing a climate change communications strategy.

The first iteration of the TDC’s carbon emission report for 2019-20 would be

available by March 2021 and would focus on emissions that the Council can directly

influence.

The Committee was also invited to approve the establishment of a Member/ Officer Task & Finish Group to inform the development of the action plan.

During the debate, the absence of costings from the proposed action plan was questioned. Officers explained that the first objective was to prioritise potential actions to pursue. The associated financial and other key implications would then be assessed, including the scope for assigning dedicated cost centres for budget monitoring purposes. The debate concluded with the view that residents expect the Council to become carbon neutral and that its declaration of a climate change emergency had committed the Authority to an effective programme of change.

            R E S O L V E D – that

A.     the Council's climate change action plan at Appendix A to the report be adopted;

B.     the Committee receives an update on the development and delivery of the action plan in June 2021 and annually thereafter; and

C.     a climate change task and finish group be established with the following terms of reference:

i)       to inform the development of the action plan, including prioritisation of      actions and identification of timescales for delivery;

ii)      to review the carbon emissions report when produced and propose any   further actions required in light of that report; and

iii)     to inform the development of an update report to the Strategy & Resources Committee in June 2021, at which point the Group will have completed its work.

            (The Group shall comprise two Councillors from each of the three largest groups and       one member from the Independent Group. The officers most relevant to the topics         being discussed, and the climate change lead officer, would also attend).