Agenda item

Discussion paper of the Climate Change Working Group (to be presented by the Chair of the working group, Councillor Wheeldon)

The need for Councillor Wheeldon to depart by 8pm necessitated this item being taken before Agenda Item 9 (Flood Protection Update).

Councillor Wheeldon, Chair of the Climate Change Working Group, introduced the discussion paper, which summarised the work undertaken by the working group.  Council had agreed a motion that recommended the purchase of zero carbon electricity from a green energy provider be a major consideration when choosing the new supplier and this contract was due to be awarded tomorrow (1 March).  Members of the working group had been invited to attend and based on evidence from Bristol City Council who had undertaken a similar exercise, prices were shown to be more comparable with current costs.  The voltage optimisation device that had been fitted at Leisure@ was incompatible with the combined heat and power unit and had therefore been removed and installed at the Town Hall.  Two replacement cremators had been installed, these were far more efficient than the last and given that the crematorium used such a large quantity of gas, this would achieve a substantial impact.   A late addition to the working group agenda had been the issue of air quality after Cheltenham was declared an Air Quality Management Area, which directly related to Climate Change as it was a result of car emissions.  Climate change and the resulting extreme weather events had affected Cheltenham and were likely to again and he was therefore pleased that climate change adaptation would be considered by Officers as part of the commissioning process.

In addition to this he had proposed a motion to Council, who had in turn, referred the matter to scrutiny for consideration;

This council is fully committed to reduce its output of greenhouse gases and therefore resolves that;

Our current target of a 30% reduction by 2015 should be brought in line with other public bodies and changed to a 40% reduction target by 2020 subject to consideration by scrutiny.

Other authorities had adopted the target that was being proposed and this would allow for comparisons to be more easily drawn.  It would also be inextricably linked with long term revenue savings as any reduction in energy consumption would result in lower energy bills.  There was a question about what return was sought for initiatives which required capital funding.  Other authorities aimed to achieve an 8-10% return but no such figure had been set for this Council and he felt this needed to be done as a priority.

Councillor Wheeldon offered the following responses to questions from Members of the Committee;

• Capacity issues with regard to the Smarter Travel Plan related specifically to the ability of Officers to undertake and complete the work involved in its development.
• Just as the working group had decided to go ahead with solar panels, Government had cut the scheme, but the cost of solar panels had since come down by approximately 30%.  It was likely that costs would fall further over the next 12 months and, once an acceptable payback period could be established, the working group could go ahead and make recommendations. 
• Initiatives such as the procurement of a green electricity supplier would require capital but linked with a reduction in usage of electricity would reduce this cost.

Councillor Garnham had no problem accepting the revised target but needed to be sure monies that the council did not have, would be required for this target to be achievable.

The Cabinet Member Sustainability had welcomed the motion despite the short notice he was given and it was because of this that he was unable to provide a response to the query raised by Councillor Garnham.  He agreed that before the commitment was made, a business case would need to be considered but felt that the revised target was achievable in principal.  He had discussed the issue with officers and asked them to compile a list of scenarios (e.g. office move, etc) that would enable a 40% reduction by 2020 and outline the costs and savings associated with each option.  The policy on acceptable returns on investments was not highly developed given that there were limited funds available in addition to invest to save.  Initiatives would need to be considered on an individual basis.  In relation to solar panels, he was awaiting further announcements from Government.

In response to a query raised by the Chair, he explained that the 40% target had been included in the Corporate Strategy on the assumption that the motion would be accepted by Council and since it was not, the text would be amended to read, subject to the business case. 

Councillor Bickerton suggested that some of the achievements discussed should be promoted on the website.  Members agreed.

The Chair thanked the Members of the working group for their hard work and hoped that it would be permitted to continue under the new scrutiny arrangements.