Agenda item

To present the report of the Chief Executive.

The report of the Chief Executive setting out the Council’s analysis of the recommendations made in Audit Wales and Zurich Risk Engineering reports in relation to climate change response  along with the actions identified by the Council to strengthen its approach to climate change was presented for the Committee’s consideration. Also attached was a letter by Audit Wales which provided an update and summary of the Council’s decarbonisation progress.

Councillor Nicola Roberts, Portfolio Member for Planning, Public Protection and Climate Change presented the reports which included a report by the Auditor General for Wales on public sector readiness for net zero carbon by 2030 and a climate health check report by Zurich Risk Engineering which was commissioned by the Council as an initial assessment of the Authority’s response to climate change. She welcomed both reports and highlighted the Council’s response which identifies changes to be implemented over the short, medium and long-term to ensure that its approach to climate change is fit for purpose.

Overall, it is fair to conclude that the Council is on the right track with its approach to delivering net zero at this point and the Council’s Towards Net Zero Plan identifies the path ahead for the Council with its specific programme areas. This conclusion however must be qualified by keeping in mind that significant actions and changes are still required for the Council to realistically reach its net zero target.

The Chief Executive set the context saying that in September, 2020 the Council declared a Climate Emergency and made a commitment to become a net zero Council by 2030. As part of that commitment a Net Zero Plan was adopted by the Council in March, 2022; funding has been also earmarked for climate change purposes and a Climate Change Programme Manager role has been created to co-ordinate and drive the changes forward at a corporate level. Although significant progress has been made the Council recognises that it is at an early stage of the journey towards achieving net zero. Notwithstanding its determination and desire to take action and to contribute to decarbonisation, the Council also acknowledges that due to the challenging financial situation achieving the net zero target will be difficult and consequently it cannot predict with any certainty that the target will be met by 2030 although the Committee can be assured that the Council will continue to strive to deliver that outcome. A critical piece of work that is underway is creating a baseline which will help the Council establish its current position and on that basis develop specific targets and monitor progress; further as it prioritises interventions, investments and changes the baseline will help gauge their impact in terms of carbon emissions and the environment. Embedding climate action within the Council’s day to day activities and processes involves a culture change and introduces a new element to the Council’s operations.  A carbon literacy training programme is to be rolled out in the New Year.

The Chief Executive’s assessment was affirmed by the Climate Change Manager.

In considering the documentation, the Committee discussed the following –

·      The energy savings from measures already taken e.g. the installation of solar panels on Council buildings. The Climate Change Manager confirmed that investments to improve the energy efficiency of buildings will bring benefits and savings in the long term and are part of the business case.

·      The metrics used to measure progress and whether those will be bespoke and developed internally within the Council or already available and off the shelf. The Climate Change Manager advised that the intention is to follow the guidelines issued by Welsh Government in the form of the Welsh Public Sector Net Zero Carbon Reporting Guide and Spreadsheet and that the baseline and general picture which the Council are developing will be on that basis too.

·      The short and medium-term costs of achieving the net zero target and whether the Council has begun to estimate those costs, and in light of the recognition by Wales Audit that finance is cited by public sector bodies as the greatest barrier to achieving the net zero ambition, whether additional funding will be made available by Welsh Government the thinking being that the costs of meeting the net zero target should not be met from the Council’s core funding.

The Chief Executive advised that while it is impossible to estimate the costs in their totality, the work of assessing costs has begun in a number of areas where that is feasible, for example replacing the Council’s fleet vehicles with electric powered vehicles and making the Council’s housing stock carbon neutral. Assessing cost is further complicated by rising inflation which is why it is important in forward planning to focus on the next two to three years and to use the baseline to identify where the Council can invest to secure the greatest benefits in terms of the environment while being mindful of the longer term requirements and financial implications. As part of the process, a change of mind-set is needed to use the many grants which the Council is awarded for various purposes to also move the net zero agenda forward as opposed to letting the cost fall on the Council’s core budget. As regards funding the issue for the Council is determining its priorities in the midst of a cost of living crisis which is the latest in a number of crisis situations it has had to deal with including the pandemic and climate change. Should there be no additional financial support to progress the decarbonisation programme then the Council will have to do the best it can within the resources available to it. Public sector bodies received additional funding to carry out the extra work that was needed to respond to the pandemic and while grants are available for various  aspects of decarbonisation work, the funding is not on the same level as that provided for the Covid-19 emergency.

The Director of Function (Resources)/Section 151 Officer advised that the Council’s foremost priority is funding the services it provides and safeguarding those services as the budget situation worsens as it is expected to do in the next two years. Making additional investment in decarbonisation initiatives is therefore difficult in those circumstances and while the delivery of services is likely to be prioritised, the Council will still have to find ways of moving towards achieving the 2030 net zero target. Given the current financial crisis, the challenge would be significant even with additional support but without it, the target is unlikely to be met.

In following up the responses the Committee wanted to know whether the Council is at risk of losing grant funding if it is not able to demonstrate progress in moving towards the 2030 net zero target.

The Chief Executive confirmed that Welsh Government is soon likely to be looking for evidence of carbon reduction in assessing projects for grant funding which makes having a baseline in place to be able to measure progress and record milestones all the more important. Although it is not thought the Council will face criticism on account of its current position since it already has undertaken considerable work with regard to its schools estate and housing for example, the risk is in missing out on grant opportunities which are increasingly likely to come from a green perspective meaning that it is essential that the Council is able to show the positive impact of its work on the environment and on reducing carbon emissions.

·      Whether the Council has considered enlisting the support, expertise and experiences of third parties to achieve its net zero ambition.

The Chief Executive advised that the Council’s immediate priority is to establish its own position and to identify how and where its efforts need to be targeted to make a difference; this will be driven by the baseline which in turn will drive options including bringing in third parties. Aside from that the Council has an important role as a community leader to be influencing actions and would like in due course to see a community based net zero environmental enhancement programme being implemented which would open up opportunities for third party partnerships.

In response to a question by the Chair about the steps the Council is going to take to achieve its net zero ambition, the Chief Executive advised that the baseline will act as the   foundation for all other actions; creating a dashboard version of the baseline will provide a visual representation that makes it easier to identify trends and changes with the aim being to develop an automated baseline that can be easily updated. He suggested that the Committee be updated on progress in the spring, 2023 with the aim also of bringing the baseline and dashboard to the Committee to enable it to gain a better sense of the impact of the Council’s work in responding to climate change.

It was resolved to note the Wales Audit and Zurich Risk Municipal reports and to note also that the Committee takes assurance that both reports have been reviewed and changes identified to improve the Council’s approach in responding to climate change.

Other Action – the Committee to be updated on progress in spring 2023.