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City of York Council |
Committee Minutes |
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Meeting |
Climate Emergency Policy and Scrutiny Committee |
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Date |
13 December 2022 |
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Present
Officers in Attendance |
Councillors Vassie (Chair), Cullwick, D Myers, Perrett and Wann
Claire Foale - Assistant Director Policy and Strategy James Gilchrist - Director of Environment, Transport and Planning Shaun Gibbons - Head of Carbon Reduction Corporate Strategy Dave Meigh – Operations Manager |
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Apologies |
Councillor Baker |
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14. Declarations of Interest
Members were asked to declare, at this point in the meeting,
any personal interests, not included on the Register of Interests,
or any prejudicial or disclosable pecuniary interests that they
might have had in respect of business on the agenda. None were declared.
15. Minutes
Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting held on 4 October 2022 be approved and signed as a accurate record by the Chair.
16. Public Participation
It was reported that there was one registration to speak under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.
Debby Cobbett requested that the Council move at a quicker pace to tackle emissions in the city. She suggested there was a need for more retrofitting jobs and highlighted work undertaken at York Disability Week. Finally she asked for representation for Trade Unions on York’s Climate Commission.
17. York: Local Area Energy Plan
The Committee welcomed Karl Sample from Energy Systems Catapult (ESC) who had produced the Local Area Energy Plan’s for North Yorkshire and had done a specific plan for York. The Committee were introduced to the report and informed of the challenges to decarbonising York’s energy system. It was confirmed that the plan had been developed in conjunction with North Yorkshire who aimed to reach their carbon negative goal by 2040, therefore, York would need to move at a faster pace to achieve its target of net zero carbon emissions by 2030.
Members discussed the outcome of the modelling which provided a framework for when and what should be done to achieve net zero. The estimated £3.8 billion investment required to decarbonise the energy system was discussed as it was noted that funding external to the Council’s budget would be required. Officers noted that the cost, while high, included inherent costs such as replacements of boilers and it was agreed that improvements in areas such as retrofitting would be both a benefit to decarbonisation as well as reducing household bills. The Committee enquired about the possibility of including case studies of work undertaken elsewhere as reference points for specific programmes that could be undertaken to meet objectives outlined by the model.
Supporting residents to reduce emissions was discussed around support for retrofitting in the HUG scheme and access to electric vehicle charging. It was noted that York had more electric vehicle charging points than anywhere in the UK outside of London, however, York remained behind many other European cities. Support for charging at the 52% of York homes which don’t have access to off street parking was considered, the Council’s Eclectic Vehicle Charging Strategy was cited with its plans for hyper hubs and charging in Council car parks to support homes unable to charge from home.
The Committee enquired about potential options for decarbonisation which had not been identified by the modelling or not included within the report. Geothermal heating from the North Selby Mine it was noted could be an option for discussion but could not be included in the model due to their being too many variables for the ESC models to see it as a worthy inclusion. It was also confirmed that officers would review the regional plans to see if heating from Allerton Waste Recovery Park and whether this could form part of York’s Local Area Energy Plan. Offshore wind farms were also discussed and their role in producing hydrogen energy. It was confirmed that the model for York had not identified offshore wind as part of its plan, but due to the potential of the Yorkshire coastline the Committee requested that work be undertaken to explore joint working with North Yorkshire to use offshore wind production.
Resolved:
i. That the Executive Member for Environment and Climate Change be requested to call for the Local Area Energy Plan to provide clear figures for the projected carbon emissions saving that would be delivered if the proposed Building Upgrade referred to in the plan are implemented, so that these can be measured against the annual carbon emissions saving required by the Climate Change Strategy and the council’s commitment to achieve Net Zero by 2030.
ii. That Officers check the role of geothermal energy and Allerton Waste Recovery Park in nearby Councils regional local area plans.
iii. That the Executive Member for Environment and Climate Change be requested to explore with North Yorkshire Council the potential of using offshore wind production to support energy generated for the benefit of the region.
Reason: To support the accelerated delivery of decarbonisation to achieve the council ambition for York to be net zero by 2030.
18. City of York Council: Annual Carbon Emissions Report 2021/22 and York Emissions Inventory Report 2022
Officers introduced the Council’s Annual Carbon Emissions Report 2021/22. It was noted that data from the pandemic was hard to compare to current figures showing in some instances drastic differences due to changes in working patterns. Compared to pre-pandemic data it was noted that the Council had made progress in reducing emissions. Officers also presented a second report on the city’s emissions and it was noted that emissions had reduced by 2.6% from 2018 to 2019.
The Committee welcomed the work undertaken in recent years to gather the data presented in the reports. It was discussed that the city wide reduction of 2.6% was positive but that reductions would need to be done at a far more rapid pace to reach the Council’s target of net zero emissions by 2030. How we measure Scope 3 emissions were discussed and officers confirmed that the Local Enterprise Partnership had a framework for measuring scope 3 on construction projects.
The city’s street lighting was discussed and whether the Council was able to move to a metered supply for the lighting and therefore save money. Officers confirmed that currently the lights are not on a metered supply and the cost of more than 20,000 meters would be considerable. It is possible to model power usage relatively accurately but as they are wired into the main supply network the cost is always through negotiation.
Resolved:
i. That the report be noted.
Reason: To support the accelerated delivery of decarbonisation to achieve the council ambition for York to be net zero by 2030.
19. Pollinator Strategy Update
The Committee welcomed the work undertaken in the Pollinator Strategy and were informed of how it had been incorporated into operations and projects. It was confirmed that the Council was going to begin a three year trial monitoring pollinator activity across the city and that Councillors were welcome to recommend locations for monitors for the trial.
Resolved:
i. That the report be noted.
ii. That all Councillors be contracted about potential locations in their wards for pollinator sensors.
Reason: To improve suitable habitat within York for pollinators.
20. Work Plan 2022/23
The Committee considered its work plan for 2022/23. It was noted that two items had been deferred from this meeting to the Committee’s final meeting of the municipal year on 28 February 2023. The Committee requested that reports for Adaptations: Climate Risk Resilience priorities for York and Adaptations: Natural flood resilience project be shared ahead of agenda publication if possible to give Members additional time to consider the reports.
Resolved:
i. That the work plan be noted.
ii. That reports for Adaptations: Climate Risk Resilience priorities for York and Adaptations: Natural flood resilience project be shared with the Committee as early as possible.
Reason: To ensure the Committee has a programme of work.
Cllr C Vassie, Chair
[The meeting started at 5.34 pm and finished at 7.42 pm].