Agenda item

Cabinet Agreed

1.         That the Climate Emergency Strategy and high level Action Plan, set out as Appendix One of this report, be approved.

2.         That this be published, following layout and presentation support from the Communications Team, on the Council’s website with final approval to be delegated to the Chief Executive in conjunction with the Leader of the Council.

3.         That the high level Actions set out in the report be incorporated into Service and Budget Planning for 2022/23 onwards.

4.         That a further report be brought to Cabinet in 2022 setting out the funding requirements to achieve the medium-term action plan deliverables. This should include the indicative capital programme for the climate emergency for the MTFS period.

Cllr Williams handed over to Mark Gaynor and Melanie Parr. Mark explained this comprehensive report sets out the strategy for the borough, how it intends to meet the 2030 pledges for scopes 1 and 2, the 2050 pledges for scope 3, and to stimulate action amongst residents and businesses. The report details which high-level actions are being looked at, pursued, and draft estimate costings for these. Mark noted the need for greater government clarity on how much funding they will get. He noted the report is not finalised at this stage. The process of beginning to incorporate actions and costings will be commencing soon, and will be in the service and budget planning for ‘22/’23. Recommendation 4 indicates that short-term actions begin in the near future, and council officers will now begin to work on the short, medium and long term plans to incorporate these actions and costings into the budgets at the appropriate points. Mark asked if anyone had any questions.

Cllr Tindall asked if they could provide some intermediate details, timings and dates, given the large number of different factors and types of mitigation in the whole strategy, to give them a better idea of next steps and stages and help with target monitoring. He asked if they could include a Gantt chart.

Mark responded that the work is underway on the short, medium and long term plans to provide that. He noted that it is not clear yet which solutions will emerge as the most effective, for example installing zero carbon heating in buildings. They will not start putting it in new houses until they know it is the most energy efficient it can be, but work is underway on this. Mark also gave the example of finding a zero carbon option to replace refuse freighters. Their current fleet has a life until 2028, and it is not clear yet if the solution will be electric or hydrogen. Mark believes with bigger lorries it is likely to be hydrogen as overall more efficient, but they are not clear yet. With air source heat pumps, there are similar issues that need to be worked out, for example ensuring homes are properly insulated so they will work efficiently, and improving supply chain and installations to allow for more than the current capacity of 60,000 a year. Mark also noted that longer-term plans may change as technology improves, for example battery storage in solar heating. The information is not ready yet for a full 10 or 30-year plan, however the work is being started, with the aim to provide this in the next few months.

Melanie noted that she would be happy to make a Gantt chart for the short, medium and long-term action plans they currently have. She drew attention to page 53 of the report, where it states an annual report will be created to help clarify objectives and if anything had changed. For example, on Monday they found out it will be law next year for electric vehicle charging points to be on new builds, so they will now need to look at that. Therefore, their approach is to review things quarterly as well as producing the annual overview report of their action plan.

Cllr Elliott thanked Mark for the report. He noted the point that the carbon footprint of DBC was about 1% of the whole borough, therefore the bigger thing to do is to change the behaviour of residents. He also noted that bigger countries like China, Russia and the USA also need to change their behaviour.

Mark agreed that the bigger challenge is the borough as a whole, and mentioned Mel’s work in establishing Dacorum Climate Action Network (CAN). He noted that a big focus would be on young people, because they have more reason to want to help with climate action than some others do. Mark passed over to Mel to explain more about the CAN and the event held 2 weeks previous.

Melanie agreed on the importance of behavioural change, noting that they have included information in the strategy on what the council are doing to support and influence others, and what the public can do. Once this is published and promoted, this will help push the message to encourage people to get involved. She noted the point about China is valid, however they buy things from China, so everyone is a consumer and needs to take responsibility.

The Dacorum CAN was launched at the end of September, and has grown quickly, with over 150 people and 35 organisations signed up. Mel explained that there will be a monthly newsletter, a quarterly meeting and annual event. This year’s event was timed to be at the same time as COP26. It was well attended, with over 100 people in person and 30 online. They have also been holding a climate change art exhibition in the Marlowes shopping centre, to engage more local people and schools. Green Community Grants was also recently launched, where community projects can apply for up to £3,000 from a pot of £20,000. Melanie noted that today, Mark signed a contract on the Hertfordshire energy efficiency app, and they are the first local authority in the UK to work with the Energy Saving Trust on that. Melanie stated that though they have lots going on, they are always welcome to other ideas.

Cllr Griffiths thanked Mark and Melanie for their contributions. She agreed on the importance of engaging the public in adopting green principles in their own lifestyles. She noted that you get better engagement if it is a conversation rather than telling people what to do, and congratulated Melanie on Dacorum CAN for allowing people to come with their ideas and engage. Cllr Griffiths believes that if the residents know CAN are a reliable source for information, help and ideas that will go a long way.

Cllr Barratt echoed the previous sentiments, and commended Melanie and Mark on the report.

Cllr Williams agreed that the CAN event was a good launch. He noted that it is difficult to inspire residents when they read things about other countries, and what he said at the event on this was misinterpreted, as you should not do anything because China and Russia are not, but this was not his meaning behind this. He believes it is important to set examples and send clear messages to residents, so they need to be aware of this. Cllr Williams noted that the government often launch pots of funding for schemes with short notice; therefore, he wanted to ensure they have work going on on some projects that puts them in a position to bid for funding quickly if necessary, particularly in the area of social housing stock. He noted it is difficult to predict the future, with the fast pace of advances in technology, but that at every stage, they need to be prepared.

Mark noted that they have been very diligent on collecting information required in a range of areas. They have had work completed by CLS looking at the energy efficiency of some of their council buildings, which may fit into the kind of programmes the government may launch funding for. Mark noted that the government are focussing on lower EPCs, and commended the council on not having very many of those, theirs tend to be around the C to D category. For Mark, it is important to focus on all areas of housing, including renting and owner occupation. For example, they know more about their own council housing stock, however if they get more funding from the Green Homes Energy grant, they could focus some of it on advising people what things to consider. Mark believes that they can probably meet the costs within the existing budget for climate change going into 2023, but wishes the government would cease to make bidding for funding a competition, as it needs addressing across the whole country.

Cllr Williams agreed it might be simpler that way, but the amount of money needed is going to be more than what is available, therefore they need to be ready to bid for it. Cllr Williams asked the council if they agreed recommendations 1 to 4 on page 10 and 11 on the agenda. Council agreed.

Mark leaving the council

Mark G mentioned this was his last cabinet meeting, and wanted to make sure the climate emergency report got approved. He thanked the members of the council for their help, and expressed his pleasure at how much has been achieved over his 11 years in post.

Cllr Williams agreed with Mark, and noted his significant contribution to the council, for example on the successful council house building programme. He wished Mark all the best in his future endeavours, and thanked him for his time and commitment to DBC

Cabinet Agreed

1.         That the Climate Emergency Strategy and high level Action Plan, set out as          One of this report, be approved.

2.         That this be published, following layout and presentation support from the Communications Team, on the Council’s website with final approval to be delegated to the Chief Executive in conjunction with the Leader of the Council.

3.         That the high level Actions set out in the report be incorporated into Service and Budget Planning for 2022/23 onwards.

4.         That a further report be brought to Cabinet in 2022 setting out the funding requirements to achieve the medium-term action plan deliverables. This should include the indicative capital programme for the climate emergency for the MTFS period.