Agenda item

The Committee will consider an update on emissions in the city.

The Committee considered a report which presented the Emissions Inventory for York. This data was to be used to monitor progress against the City of York Council ambition to achieve net zero carbon emissions for the city by 2030. The Assistant Director for Policy and Strategy, Director of Environment, Transport and Planning and the Head of Carbon reduction were in attendance to present the report and respond to questions.

Key points raised during the presentation of the report included:

·        That there were two reports attached, one for the emissions generated by the City of York Council specifically, and another for the general emissions of York as a whole, which was to be used to monitor progress towards achieving the target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2030.

·        That the City of York Council was responsible for around 4% of York’s total emissions.

·        There was also information on carbon emissions resulting from home-working and how changing patterns of work will affect carbon emissions going forward.

·        A paper on creating a sustainable procurement model was also included.

Comments/questions from members on City of York Council emissions and responses from officers included:

·        Members noted the positive change the council had made in switching to 100% renewable energy, however commented there were still challenges on how energy is used by the Council, especially with regard to billing.

-      Officers noted that the Council purchased 100% renewable energy, but there was no way to guarantee that all energy used was generated from renewable sources because it came from the national grid.

·        The cost of street lighting was discussed, electricity for which was costing the Council £800,000 per year, up from £600,000 per year in c.2008 despite improvements in energy efficiency.

-      Officers noted that street lighting was not metered, with the cost estimated from the number of lamps and time of use through an asset register. Although overall energy costs had increased, there had been reductions in cost through the introduction of more efficient LED light bulbs.

-      It was much easier to control the amount of energy to street lights e.g. to dim them in the middle of the night when there was less need for light, once they were 100% converted to LED compared to the current mixed market. 12,00 out of 19,000 bulbs were LEDs. The primary focus of the Council was currently replacing columns that were close to collapse, however whenever that was done, an LED bulb would be used in the replacement.

-      However, members also emphasised the role street lighting played in keeping people safe, especially women, and noted that reducing lighting at night could cause significant worry.

-      Officers assured members that any changes to street lighting would be tested and discussed with residents and women’s charities before implementation.

·        The Council possessed a biomass boiler and local generation in some buildings, however overall consumption was much larger than this generation capacity. A study had shown that opportunities for renewable generation had been exhausted within City of York Council buildings, however options for renewable generations of electricity in other locations in York which was to be explored in detail In local area energy planning. It was also noted that there were solar canopies in two of the park and ride sites in York. Other examples included Allerton Waste Recovery Park.

·        Concerns were raised over only scope 1 and 2 emissions being calculated, with some members feeling that the majority of the Council’s emissions would come under scope 3.

-      Officers responded that scope 3 emissions were very difficult to calculate, and that there were plans to work with York and North Yorkshire LEP to create a methodology to measure scope 3 emissions is as much detail as was currently possible with scope 2.

·        Over the next 4 years all City of York Council vehicles under 3.5 tons were to be replaced with electric vehicles.

Comments/questions from members on city wide emissions and responses from officers included:

·        That 31.8% of scope 1 and 2 emissions in York came from the city’s domestic buildings, 30.1% from non-domestic buildings and 27.9% from transport.

·        More education was needed for residents to fill gaps in knowledge about where the majority of the city’s emissions are produced.

·        The city-wide emissions report was to form the basis of the Council’s submission to the Carbon Disclosure Project and the Global Covenant of Mayors.

·        Corporate emissions were from 2020/21, however data for city-wide emissions was always subject to a time lag, therefore the most up to date emissions related to 2018.

Resolved:

i.             That the contents of the update be noted.

ii.            That options for drafting a letter to HM Government, in conjunction with the Executive Member for Environment and Climate Change and other local authorities to lobby for more up to date city-wide emissions statistics.

Reason: To enable to committee to remain updated on emissions within York.