Agenda item

Consideration was given to report of the Managing Director.

The Managing Director presented the report which provided an update on progress of the Low Carbon BG project to develop an ambitious Low Carbon Plan for Blaenau Gwent.  The review was part of the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) and Bridging the Gap programme. 

The Managing Director went through the report and highlighted points contained therein.  She said climate change was a really important issue, and clear targets have been set at UK and Wales level to reduce carbon emissions. 

In terms of progress, some very good work had been identified across the Council, and this project would bring that work together in order to deliver a more efficient Council, and reduce our carbon emissions.  It was intended to hold further engagement with Members by way of Member workshops, and present the Low Carbon Plan to Council by the end of March 2020.

The Managing Director also referred to the scope of the plan detailed at section 2.5 of the report, particularly the work being done with the community and our partner organisations, through the Public Service Board, with the view of achieving a ‘Whole Borough’ approach to reducing carbon emissions.

A Member said he welcomed the report, particularly with the challenges facing future generations around global warming, and said the Council should pledge to achieve a target of zero carbon emissions by 2030 in line with the all Wales target.

A Member asked whether any calculations had been done to establish the impact of increased traffic as a result of the dualling of the Heads of the Valleys road.  Whilst the project was much needed in order to draw investment into the area, it would be interesting to see the environmental impact of the project.

Another Member asked whether the Authority would be working with Tai Calon to secure grant funding to support the reduction of carbon emissions.

In response the Managing Director said the Council had been following NRW ‘Carbon Positive Futures’ model to calculate the Council’s carbon footprint, but this did not allow for the type of calculations needed to assess the impact of the HoV, however this could be part of the Council’s broader work with the PSB.  She pointed out that following NRW’s calculations, they came out as a carbon positive organisation due to the amount of forestry land they owned; and this was also something that the Council and partners will also explore to ensure that where possible carbon emissions can be off-set.

In terms of funding, the Managing Director confirmed that Tai Calon were part of the PSB, so the Council would be working with them and other partner organisations.  Internally, the Council would be looking at invest to save initiatives, and Officers would also be exploring various grant funding opportunities.

       i.          The Committee AGREED to recommend that the report be accepted and the Scrutiny Committee made comments and recommendations regarding the proposed approach (Option 2); and

     ii.          That the Council pledges to achieve a target of zero carbon emissions by 2030 in line with the all Wales target.