Agenda item

The Leader presented the Climate Change Plan Annual Report for 2022/23.

The purpose of the report was to provide organisational emissions for 2022/23 along with an update on the projects supporting decarbonisation efforts.

This was the first full annual report of the Climate Change Plan which was signed off by Cabinet in March 2022.  The Climate Change Plan set out how the Council would reach Net Zero as an organisation by 2030 in line with our commitments.

Overall, Carbon emissions are down - excluding procurement, operational emissions reduced by 7.69% since 2021/22.  The Leader thanked everyone for their efforts on this.

A long overdue change in how the Council was required to report procurement emissions has led to an up-to-date figure, which was much lower than previously reported.  As a response to changes in the reporting guidance, the Council’s engagement has been initiated with its supply chain to start to build more detailed figures, specific to Newport.

With a city-wide Local Area Energy Plan now in place, actions in Year 2 of the climate change plan have a much tighter focus on organisational emissions.

Most actions for Year 2 of the plan have in-year completion dates allowing better management of performance.

An important detail to note was the recommendation for the separation of Action Plans from the main Organisational Plan. Action Plans would be publicly available but separating them from the body of the Plan itself means that the Plan does not need to be amended and re-published on an annual basis in its entirety.

Climate Change projects of note in the past year included:

·        The roll-out of Carbon Literacy training to members and senior managers and the achievement of Bronze Accreditation status.

·        The establishment of the Climate Change Staff Network which has over 30 members who meet monthly.

·        The installation of further solar panels through Egni, the community solar co-operative.

·        Installation of Air Source Heat Pumps at Caerleon Comprehensive.

·        The achievement of Tree City of the World Status in recognition of the management of our tree stocks.

·        Completion of the Devon Place Bridge to support active travel across the city.

·        Changes to procurement processes to support decarbonisation through the larger purchases made. Soon every procurement over £75,000 would need endorsement from the climate change team.

In the coming year, the main areas of focus for the Climate Change Plan would be:

·        The ongoing decarbonisation of heat in our buildings, removing the need for fossil fuels use where possible.

·        The delivery of widespread EV charging.

·        Evaluating the decarbonisation potential of the land we own.

·        The development of internal and external communications plans to ensure that we were communicating with and engaging staff and the public.

Comments of Cabinet Members:

§  Councillor Forsey referred to wildfires, rising sea levels and terrible storms this year. July was the hottest month ever recorded; the UN Climate Change report expected more heat waves in years to come.  This has a terrible toll on lives and a severe impact on food production. It is therefore vital that we continued with this work. There has been progress on decarbonisation as mentioned in the report as well as progress on electrical vehicle (EV) charging. In addition, Newport has received Tree City Status.  All of this was good progress but must continue.

§  Councillor Hughes thanked the Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Biodiversity and teams within Newport. It is important to stay on track for future generations.

§  Councillor Davies referred to the retrofitting work being undertaken in schools and the installation of the heat pump in Caerleon Comprehensive. Not only did this contribute to carbon neutrality but helped reduce heating costs and the future budgets within schools.

Decision:

Cabinet reviewed progress and approved the Annual Report.