Agenda item

That the Carbon Management Plan 2020-2030 be approved.

The Environmental Quality Team Manager introduced a report that sought agreement to recommend the Carbon Management Plan 2020-30 to Council for approval.

The new plan took forward the work arising from the 2015-20 Carbon Management Plan and enacted the Council motion of 23rd July 2019 to develop a Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan.  The previous plan aimed to reduce carbon emissions by 20% against the 2013/14 baseline.  The Council had achieved a 32.5% reduction through a range of projects such as LED street lighting, energy efficiency schemes, use of renewable energy and reduced vehicle use.

The new plan aimed to make the Council carbon neutral by 2030 and included four key outcomes:

·  A 10% reduction in net carbon emissions per year through to 2030.

·  A 100% reduction in net carbon emissions by 2030 against the 2018/19 baseline.

·  A reduction of 10.5 tonnes of CO2e to 0 tonnes per Full Time Equivalent employee by 2030.

·  A revenue saving of over 10% over the lifetime of the plan in operating costs for the Council.

There were six priorities in the plan and these were summarised.  The Lead Member for Sustainable Transport & Environmental Services explained that whilst the previous plans had been successful, the 2020 to 2030 plan was more ambitious and would require a significant amount of work across the Council to deliver. The Cabinet fully supported the plan and agreed to recommend approval to Council on 24th November 2020.

Recommended –  That the Carbon Management Plan 2020-2030 be approved.