Decision details

The Head of Energy and Carbon Reduction provided Members of the Sub-Committee with the draft Corporate ‘Decarbonisation Strategy’ and embedded ‘Action Plan’, the aim of which was to provide a clear pathway, with defined timescales, to assist the Council in delivering upon its target of achieving Carbon Neutral status by 2030.

The Chair thanked the officer for the comprehensive report. The Chair spoke of the ambitious targets and emphasised the huge scale of the Council’s operations, explaining that there were 359 sites, 600+ fleet vehicles, 10,829 full time members of staff and 423KM²of land covered.

The Chair praised the idea of zoning patches of social care and commented that the need for a vehicle can limit the number of carers employed by the Council. The Chair was also pleased to note that a future initiative would be to consider healthier meals options across schools, care homes and offices.

The Cabinet Member for Education, Youth Participation & Welsh Language took the opportunity to thank officers for the considerable amount of work undertaken to produce the fit for purpose and user-friendly Action Plan before Members. The Cabinet Member commented that the ambitious Plan would be useful for residents and Members to track the decarbonisation progress.

The Climate Change Cabinet Sub-Committee RESOLVED:

1.    To note and comment upon the contents of the report and the Council’s draft Decarbonisation Strategy and Action Plan;

2.    To consider the draft Decarbonisation Strategy and Action Plan as providing the pathway for the Council to:

a)    Meet its stated carbon reduction targets as published in the Council’s Climate Change Strategy 2022-2025

b)    Contribute in response to the nationally declared climate and nature emergencies.

3.    To maintain and prioritise the Decarbonisation debate, to increase and/or vary the speed and scope of the Council’s Decarbonisation work, and to recognise the need for all stakeholders to work together to make a positive difference; and

4.    To receive regular updates on progress and to amend the action plan as appropriate to ensure we remain on target to meet our ambitions.