Agenda item

To consider the report of the Deputy Chief Executive, (copy enclosed).

The Council considered the report of the Deputy Chief Executive updating Members on the work and considerations of the Net-Zero Working Group in relation to the Council’s current ambition to be ‘a carbon neutral District and a Net Zero Council by 2030’. The report also sought agreement from Members to revise the Council’s current ambition to ensure that it could be delivered practicably with regards to existing legal agreements, available budget / resources and available technology. Revisions to the Council’s Climate Action Strategy 2021 – 2030 were sought to ensure it accurately reflected the actions being taken by the Council to achieve net zero.

The report reminded Members of the report presented to the Council in July 2024 on the Council’s net-zero carbon emissions, including the Councils baseline emissions and an outline of the potential challenges which may prevent the Council from achieving net-zero by 2030. At this meeting a Member and Officer Net-Zero Working Group (the Working Group) has been set up to consider the Council’s route to net-zero and make recommendations to the Council on its strategy for achieving net-zero.

The Chairperson of the Working Group, Councillor J C Stilts, referred to the Head of Environmental Health, Waste and Climate Action who presented the report and the recommendations of the Working Group which included the adoption of a revised Climate Emergency Statement, set out in Appendix A to the report. If this Statement was agreed Officers would undertake a full revision of the current Climate Action Strategy to ensure it contained clear and measurable milestones for the reduction of Council emissions along with a review of the existing Climate Pledges.

The Chairperson then put the recommendations as set out in the report and this was duly seconded.

In response to questions raised during the debate, the Head of Climate Environmental Health, Waste and Climate Action advised that:

·              the Council was working on developing clear milestones with measurable targets across its three biggest carbon emitters and through the Working Group this would be clearly outlined in the Climate Action Strategy.

·              the Essex Waste Strategy, discussed by the Council earlier this year, outlined the intention of Essex County Council (ECC) to incinerate some waste. It was noted that the Council would continue to feed into this Strategy alongside its Essex partners.

·              the amendments to the Climate Emergency Statement were to assist in ensuring that the Council had a clear Climate Action Strategy that delivered net-zero and was clear and transparent.

The Leader of the Council highlighted the difficulty faced by the Council regarding waste vehicles and the limited options currently available. Councillor M F L Durham clarified at this point that ECC was responsible for the disposal of waste and that it had signed a contract to stop landfilling from 2025.

Councillor Stilts thanked the Members and Officers on the Working Group for their hard work and assured the Council that it had discussed in detail the timeline for working to net-zero.

The Chairperson moved the recommendations set out in the report which were duly agreed.

RESOLVED

(i)             That Members considered and noted the challenges and barriers identified by the Net-Zero Working Group which were likely to prevent the Council fully decarbonising its assets and activities by 2030;

(ii)            That with consideration of these issues, and with regard to the current national and county policy agenda, that the Council agrees to adopt and publish the revised Climate Emergency Statement attached in Appendix A to the report;

(iii)           That that the Climate Action Strategy 2021-2030 be revised to include a series of published milestones that will set out how the Council will reduce emissions as and when it is able to practicably do so but by no later than 2050;

(iv)           That Officers revise the current ‘Climate Pledges’ within the Climate Action Strategy and Climate Action Plan to ensure that they remain relevant to residents, businesses and community groups;

(v)            That the revised Climate Action Strategy be brought back to the Council for consideration and adoption in Spring 2025.