Agenda item

This report provides Council with a progress update on action taken in response to the Declaration of a Climate and Ecological Emergency agreed at the Full Council meeting on 8 July 2019.

AGREED

(1)     To approve the Interim Climate & Ecological Emergency Action Plan (Winter 2019-20), attached as Appendix A to the report.

(2)     To approve the development of a borough-wide climate emergency strategy which would be issued for public consultation in the New Year and referred on to Cabinet for adoption in May 2020.

Councillor Krupa Sheth introduced the report from the Strategic Director, Regeneration and Environment, which provided an update on progress with the actions taken in response to the Declaration of a Climate and Ecological Emergency made at the Full Council meeting on 8 July 2019.

As part of her opening comments, Councillor Krupa Sheth highlighted what she regarded as the considerable progress made since the Council meeting in July, which she advised she had been proud to lead given its importance to the borough.  In terms of specific actions, reference was made to the completion by the Council of an internal corporate review of its sustainability activity and to the commissioning of the Brent Carbon Scenarios 2030 study.  This had been undertaken alongside establishment of the Brent Climate Assembly which had been set up as a means of engaging and building consensus within the local community around the actions being developed in response to the climate emergency.

Turning to the report, Councillor Krupa Sheth advised this set out a pathway for the creation of a 10-year Borough wide Climate Change and Sustainability Strategy.  Development of the Strategy would be subject to public consultation (including the organisation of a Green Summit) and review by scrutiny prior to adoption by Cabinet.  Whilst the corporate review had confirmed that the Council was already delivering best practice in a number of areas, for example, its award winning green Civic Centre; LED street lighting and emission based parking permits it had also identified gaps where it was felt more could be done.  In Councillor Krupa Sheth’s view the carbon scenarios study had removed any doubt about the scale of the technological, financial and lifestyle challenges faced.  The steps being taken to reduce these risks and tackle climate change would, however, also have the potential to deliver many other positive changes within Brent on significant issues such as cleaner air, greener spaces, warmer homes, healthy travel and a thriving economy.  In seeking to deliver a programme of carbon neutral transition, Councillor Krupa Sheth also felt it important to recognise the need for fairness, with the Council committed to providing vulnerable households, people on low incomes and small businesses in Brent with the opportunity to benefit from low carbon and green technologies without suffering financial hardship.

Councillor Krupa Sheth ended by highlighting that the need for immediate action in relation to the climate emergency had also been recognised.  As a result the Council had developed an interim Winter 2019/2020 Climate and Ecological Emergency Action Plan which included a set of shorter term priorities and immediate actions in key thematic areas that Members were being asked to consider and approve at the meeting.  As a final comment, Councillor Krupa Sheth took the opportunity to thank all residents, officers and councillors for their support to date and encouraged everyone to get involved as the process moved forward.

As no other members indicated they wanted to speak on the report, the Mayor put the recommendations to the vote by a show of hands and they were unanimously declared CARRIED.

It was therefore RESOLVED

(1)    To approve the Interim Climate & Ecological Emergency Action Plan (Winter 2019-20), attached as Appendix A to the report.

(2)    To approve the development of a borough-wide climate emergency strategy which would be issued for public consultation in the New Year and referred on to Cabinet for adoption in May 2020.

Post Meeting Note:

Members are asked to note the following update to figures within section 5.3 of the original report presented to Council detailing the results of the Brent Carbon Scenarios 2030 Study:

·             Scenario 1 - Governmental and Mayoral projections to 2030, based on Government predictions for decarbonisation of the national grid and ambitious Mayoral projections for the uptake of a range of building and transport related carbon reduction measures in Brent by 2030. This scenario is estimated to achieve a 55% carbon reduction by 2030, at a cost of £764 (as opposed to 681)million.

·             Scenario 2 - An All Electric (cars and heating), Medium Insulation & Medium Solar PV Scenario, showing an 83% carbon reduction by 2030, at a cost of £2.3 (as opposed to 4.2) billion.

·             Scenario 3 - An All Electric (cars and heating), High Insulation & High Solar PV Scenario, showing an 87% carbon reduction by 2030, at a cost of £3.1 (as opposed to 5) billion.

·             Scenario 4 - An All Electric (cars and heating), High Insulation & High Solar PV Scenario and Zero Carbon Grid, showing a 100% carbon reduction by 2030, at a cost of £3.1(as opposed to 5) billion (the additional costs of a zero carbon national grid in Scenario 4 have not been quantified).