Agenda item

Under paragraph 3.22.7, Councillor Hoskin presented an altered motion to Council following cross party discussions.

 

The altered motion was as follows:

 

This Council endorses the evidence that climate change is seriously affecting the health and wellbeing of residents and the environment in East Herts and that these negative impacts are set to increase.

This Council is of the view that the consequences of the global temperature increasing by more than 1.5°C are so severe that humanity’s number one priority must be to prevent this from happening.

This Council recognises it must use its powerful voice to advocate on behalf of local communities and habitats, lead change, improve resilience and inspire residents and businesses to act to protect our precious district from the impacts of Climate Breakdown.

This Council therefore in reaffirming its commitment to protecting our environment:

·            declares a Climate Emergency

·            strengthen its resolve to act by bringing forward its commitment from 2030 to March 2027 to reduce its own carbon footprint to an absolute minimum and to identify a pathway to offset its residual carbon, so that the council will be able to continue providing high quality services but with net zero carbon emissions.

·            prioritises carbon offsetting investment within East Herts to maximise local benefits,

·            commits to publishing annual eco-audits of the council’s progress to net zero carbon that residents and businesses will be invited to scrutinise and input to, including through an annual meeting,

·            ensures that the council and its staff and services are ready to adapt to future climates and extreme weather to enable business continuity,

·            commits to providing advice and assistance to East Herts residents and businesses to inspire and encourage their own shifts away from carbon producing activities,

·            commits to ensuring council policies and practices, including commercial operations and investments, are compatible with its drive to achieve net zero carbon, including through the review of the District Plan,

·            recognises that bold action to tackle the Climate Emergency can deliver economic benefits to local people and businesses in terms of new jobs, economic savings and market opportunities,

·            commits to seeking inward investment to support efforts to achieve net zero carbon by the council, residents and businesses,

·            commits to continuing its full participation in relevant external bodies,

·            commits to participating fully in developing a Countywide Local Nature Recovery Strategy in anticipation of the national Environment Bill

·            calls on all levels of government to do everything within their powers to limit the negative impacts of Climate Breakdown, while recognising that this Council will not sit back and wait for national government intervention.

 

Councillor Redfern proposed, and Councillor Wilson seconded a motion that the meeting be adjourned for a short period for Members to consider the altered motion. The motion was put to the meeting and upon a vote being taken, was declared CARRIED.

 

RESOLVED – that the meeting be adjourned at 21:00 and reconvened at 21:05.

 

Councillor Hoskin presented the altered motion. He said that climate change was not something that may or may not happen in the future, there was gathering evidence that the effects of climate change were being felt around the world now. He said that the consequences of the global temperature increasing by more than 1.5°C were so severe that humanity’s number one priority must be to prevent it. The use of the phrase Climate Breakdown sought to recognise the danger to the delicate biodiversity that was immediately under threat under a Climate Emergency.

 

Councillor Hoskin said that it was almost certain that limiting global warming to 1.5^oC was a lost cause and researchers now said there was a 66% chance that the target would be exceeded between now and 2027. That means that a target that was actively talked about at COP 26 in 2021 was now highly likely to be unachievable. He said that in proposing this Climate Change Emergency, he wanted to thank the previous administration and Councillor McAndrew for the solid foundation that has been created since the Climate Change declaration in 2019. It should be acknowledged that a significant amount of effort had been put in to get from a standing start to the current position.

 

Councillor Hoskin said the motion required the council to declare a climate emergency and take the necessary steps to act consistently with an emergency and accelerate the use of its resources to drive to net zero for the council's own premises, people and services it delivers, use its regulatory powers to promote action by others and drive actions that influence and encourage others.

 

Councillor Hoskin said that the deadline for achieving a minimal carbon footprint for the direct activities of East Herts Council has been brought forward from 2030 to March 2027 which coincides with the end of the four-year period of the current administration. The motion recognised that in 2027 there would be a residual EHC directly managed carbon footprint that needs to be offset and seeks to maximise the offsetting schemes that produce benefit for within the EHC area. Examples included community based power generation and solar together, formally registered and maintained tree planting schemes, insulation advice and installation across the “leakiest” housing stock and the wider community and example led high specification building techniques to provide insight and further challenge to developers on claims of prohibitive costs.

 

Councillor Hoskin said in summary, the motion aimed to deliver a faster more focussed achievement of net zero, a greater community-based involvement in both generating solutions, and the monitoring and scrutiny of progress, a continuous and locally based offsetting approach using inward investment to produce fully auditable carbon credentials to minimise the residual carbon footprint in 2027 and send a strong signal to residents that stronger action is being taken.

 

Councillor Hoskin thanked Councillor McAndrew for a constructive debate and his input into the altered motion and was pleased to have cross party support on such an important motion.

 

Councillor Swainston seconded the motion and reserved her right to speak.

 

Councillor McAndrew said he was delighted to embrace the opportunity re-examine the council’s current commitment to climate change. He said it was imperative to focus on recognising the challenges and provide genuine intent in the motion and the substance was more important than terminology. He said the council should work together to make a significant impact and lead by example.

 

Councillor Estop said she welcomed and supported the motion. She proposed an amendment to the motion as follows:

 

To add under ‘This Council resolves’ –

•         to ask the Planning Department to consider whether it is possible to commit the council to ensuring council policies and practices relating to use of land and existing buildings, entails whole-life cost assessment, including carbon cost of the existing building, before considering demolition and new construction; and to ask the council as property owner to consider commissioning WLC assessments, to set a best practice example.

 

Councillor Jacobs seconded the amendment.

 

Councillor Estop said that by demolishing buildings, including its foundations, to replace it with a similar building meant energy was being lost in construction. The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors recommended the use of carbon methodology and increasingly, clients were commissioning whole life cost assessments. She said that the refurbishment of buildings had better whole life costs and environmental and community values.

 

Councillor Andrews said he was not alone in supporting the thematic element of the proposed amendment but said he was surprised that the Chairman of the Development Management Committee had not taken the time to understand how policy works as it was based on the direction of government and legislation. He said the council could not change that and urged caution around the quasi-legal element that the council does not have control over.

 

Councillor Glover-Ward said that BREAM commonly used both carbon cost considerations and whole life costs considerations. She had been proving life cycling costing for over thirty years in her professional life and said the two elements should be kept separate. She explained that carbon cost dealt with the cost to the environment and whole life cost dealt with money and said that the two did not go hand in hand. She did not think it could be a planning consideration but could be something to look at in the District Plan.

 

Councillor Deering felt the amendment was not the time or the place to be looking at planning policy. He said he would not be supporting the amendment.

 

Councillor Cox said he wished that the amendment had been worded differently and he would have been able to support it.

 

Councillor Hart echoed the comments from Councillor Cox and said it was a good amendment in principle but it needed to be considered in the relevant forum.

 

Councillor Hoskin responded to the amendment and said it was not within the council’s control to decide planning policy. He referred Members to the Sustainability Supplementary Document which envisaged this process and strongly urged developers to take a whole life approach. He said this was the correct approach to review it in the District Plan review which then would become policy of the council. He said he was not dismissing the idea but said this was not the correct forum.

 

The motion to support the amendment having been proposed and seconded was put to the meeting and upon a vote being taken, was declared LOST.

 

The meeting returned to debating the original motion.

 

Councillor Deering thanked Councillor Hoskin for his gracious comments about the previous administration. He said that Councillor McAndrew had worked tirelessly in this area for years. He said that there were many comments in the media about Conservative attitudes to climate change but he said he wanted his grandchildren to grow up and live in the world as he had known it. He said he was fully supportive of any measures the council could implement to help lessen the effects of climate change and was supportive of the altered motion.

Councillor Hopewell said she was pleased to see collaboration across the Chamber. She asked for clarification about the additional point about ensuring that the council and its staff were ready to adapt to future climates and asked for some examples.

 

Councillor McAndrew responded that every staff member at the council had a responsibility to work towards improving measures to respond to climate change.

 

Councillor Redfern said she fully supported the motion and said she admired the work of Councillor McAndrew when he was the Executive Member. She hoped progress would continue quickly.

 

Councillor Hoskin said the motion would send a strong signal to residents that they could trust the council to do the right thing.

 

The motion to support the amendment having been proposed and seconded was put to the meeting and upon a vote being taken, was declared CARRIED.

 

RESOLVED – That this Council endorses the evidence that climate change is seriously affecting the health and wellbeing of residents and the environment in East Herts and that these negative impacts are set to increase.

This Council is of the view that the consequences of the global temperature increasing by more than 1.5°C are so severe that humanity’s number one priority must be to prevent this from happening.

This Council recognises it must use its powerful voice to advocate on behalf of local communities and habitats, lead change, improve resilience and inspire residents and businesses to act to protect our precious district from the impacts of Climate Breakdown.

This Council therefore in reaffirming its commitment to protecting our environment:

·            declares a Climate Emergency

 

·            strengthen its resolve to act by bringing forward its commitment from 2030 to March 2027 to reduce its own carbon footprint to an absolute minimum and to identify a pathway to offset its residual carbon, so that the council will be able to continue providing high quality services but with net zero carbon emissions.

 

·            prioritises carbon offsetting investment within East Herts to maximise local benefits,

·            commits to publishing annual eco-audits of the council’s progress to net zero carbon that residents and businesses will be invited to scrutinise and input to, including through an annual meeting,

·            ensures that the council and its staff and services are ready to adapt to future climates and extreme weather to enable business continuity,

·            commits to providing advice and assistance to East Herts residents and businesses to inspire and encourage their own shifts away from carbon producing activities,

·            commits to ensuring council policies and practices, including commercial operations and investments, are compatible with its drive to achieve net zero carbon, including through the review of the District Plan,

·            recognises that bold action to tackle the Climate Emergency can deliver economic benefits to local people and businesses in terms of new jobs, economic savings and market opportunities,

·            commits to seeking inward investment to support efforts to achieve net zero carbon by the council, residents and businesses,
 

·            commits to continuing its full participation in relevant external bodies,

·            commits to participating fully in developing a Countywide Local Nature Recovery Strategy in anticipation of the national Environment Bill,

·            calls on all levels of government to do everything within their powers to limit the negative impacts of Climate Breakdown, while recognising that this Council will not sit back and wait for national government intervention.