Decision details

Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Economy, Transport and

Environment regarding the Climate Change Strategy.

At the invitation of the Chairman, Councillor Tod addressed Cabinet highlighting the scale of the climate change crisis. He welcomed the commitment to change and proposed that progress across different areas of the Council’s activity be monitored through the scrutiny committees.

The report was introduced with reference to the extensive work that had been carried out on policy development. The duel targets of reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and of building resilience to temperature change were set out. It was confirmed that the baseline level of emissions had been established using recognised methodology from the Carbon Trust. The development of impact assessment tools to integrate with the Council’s future decision making process was highlighted. It was confirmed that stakeholder events had been held and a number of new projects to both engage with communities and provide advice were detailed.

Cabinet welcomed the report and the evidence based approach and thanked officers for their work and the progress that had been achieved. It was recognised that the direct influence of local government was limited and therefore working with partners and communities was essential.

With the agreement of the Chairman, the Assistant to the Executive – Environment (Councillor Warwick) addressed Cabinet. She praised the work in the report to provide a starting point for the significant action that was needed to meet the targets that were set. She welcomed the community support and advice projects that had been launched and highlighted the benefits of bringing partners together.

The recommendations set out in the report were considered and agreed. A

decision record is attached to these minutes.