HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL
PLANNING AND EXTERNAL RELATIONS CABINET PANEL
FRIDAY 11 JANUARY 2008 AT 10.00AM
CLIMATE CHANGE ACTIVITY UPDATE
Report of the Director of Environment
Contact: Bethan Clemence
Tel: 01992 556295
Executive Member: Derrick Ashley
1 Purpose
· To update the Panel on the County Council’s climate change work programme, the actions and progress made to date, policy developments in the short term and future actions that need to be taken.
· To emphasise the overarching nature of climate change and to raise awareness of the need for joint working across all HCC departments.
2 Summary
2.1 It is becoming increasingly important for HCC to address the issue of climate change, not least because government’s decision to set legally-binding targets is increasingly leading towards performance expectations and, in some cases mandatory requirements, being placed upon local government.
2.2 The County Council signed the Nottingham Declaration on Climate Change at the beginning of 2007 and is already involved in a significant level of climate change work, including:
· Local Authority Carbon Management Programme
· Development of a Climate Change Strategy
· Switch-off campaigns
· Quality of Life Report 2007
· Commissioning climate change adaptation research
· Development of a climate change website
2.3 There is also a growing amount of work being undertaken at the regional scale, much of which has significant involvement of HCC officers. This includes:
· East of England Climate Change Partnership and the Climate Action Plan East
· EEDA Cut Your Carbon Campaign
· Regional Renewable Energy Study
2.4 At the national level, there is a growing emphasis from government on the role of local government in tackling climate change. This is best illustrated through the recent publication of the new 198 national indicators which will underpin the local government performance framework. Three of these relate specifically to climate change, whilst a number of others have indirect links.
2.5 The recent publication of the LGA Climate Change Commission’s final report also sends a strong signal to local authorities that they are expected to address climate change.
2.6 Whilst HCC has already undertaken a substantial climate change work programme, there is still much more to do. Over the next 6 months Officers will be developing and implementing a comprehensive programme of work in response to the various national, regional and local pressures.
2.7 The climate change agenda is moving rapidly, with the most recent developments having significant implications for local government. HCC, through the significant amount of work it has already undertaken, is well placed to respond to the new expectations being placed upon local government. However, a number of key areas will bring about the need for much more detailed and complex work to be undertaken. Critically, this will require consideration of not only resourcing and finance issues, but also whether the current HCC structural framework will prove appropriate in the longer term.
3 Recommendations
The Panel receive and acknowledge this report.
4 Background/Context
4.1 There are a number of key reasons why it is important for HCC to address the issue of climate change:
· We have a responsibility to lead by example.
· Mitigation and adaptation actions make financial sense, and fit with the broader benefits of sustainability and associated cost-savings.
· The government’s decision to set legally-binding targets is increasingly leading towards performance expectations and, in some cases mandatory requirements, being placed upon local government. It is far better to work towards these expectations now than being unprepared a few years down the line.
· Without adaptation, climate change could have a significant impact on our service delivery, both financially and on resource capacity.
4.2 It is essential for any strategic approach to climate change to address both the mitigation of future climate change as well as adaptation to the impacts of unpreventable climate change now and in the future:
· Mitigation: action to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases (e.g. carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, ozone, chlorofluorocarbons) as a means of slowing the rate of human-induced climate change;
· Adaptation: changes to behaviour or practice to take into account and adjust to the impacts of climate change. Adaptation may seek to take advantage of, or avoid the threat from, climate change impacts.
4.3 Both mitigation and adaptation are important strategies, but there has to be recognition that they must be employed together, since adaptation will be needed in advance of the mitigation measures having an effect on the magnitude and rate of climate change.
5 HCC Work Update
Local Authority Carbon Management Programme
5.1 In June 2007 HCC, in partnership with The City and District of St Albans, signed up to Phase 5 of the Local Authority Carbon Management Programme (LACM5), delivered by the Carbon Trust. Local authorities are guided through a 5-step programme towards identifying, implementing and monitoring carbon reduction measures.
5.2 Signing up for the LACM5 programme has provided HCC with the opportunity to focus attention at emissions reduction and carbon management in a focused and structured way, in order to meet an aspirational target of a 25% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2013.
5.3 It has required inter-departmental working, with staff from key service areas facilitating responses that can deliver lower emissions for HCC. Particular service areas include:
· property management
· highways
· fleet
· street lighting
5.4 Now over halfway through the programme, significant work has been undertaken to identify project opportunities and initiatives to reduce CO2 emissions from Council operations and property. Part of this process has involved starting to look at the associated financial investment and long-term cost savings that may result from such initiatives.
5.5 This work will feed into a Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP), which is currently under development. The aim of the SIP is to provide a comprehensive plan which outlines how CO2 reduction initiatives can be championed and invested in to save money in the longer term. The objectives will be SMART and will support the overall CO2 reduction target through appropriate governance frameworks. A draft of the SIP will be submitted towards the end of January 2008, with the final document being submitted to appropriate HCC panels during the following few months.
HCC Climate Change Strategy
5.6 Currently under development, the Authority’s Climate Change Strategy will set out targets and actions through which HCC can reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change across its services and operations. In part it will also serve as HCC’s strategic response to the new national climate change performance indicators (see section 7 of this report).
5.7 In terms of emissions reduction, the Strategy will be largely informed by the Strategic Implementation Plan produced as part of the Local Authority Carbon Management Programme. With regards to adaptation, the strategy will look to identify processes and research requirements in the short term.
5.8 The timetable for the Strategy is included in Appendix 3.
Switch off Campaign
5.9 The period from the 5-9 November saw campaigning activity across three major HCC sites – County Hall, Mundells and Apsley – in the build up to a ‘Switch-off weekend’. Staff had access to a range of stalls providing energy efficiency advice, free light bulbs and information on how to save energy in the workplace. Around 1000 staff visited the exhibitions at Apsley, Mundells and County Hall, and over 500 low energy light bulbs were given away.
5.10 Over the weekend we saved 3430 kWh of electricity and 1.5 tonnes of Carbon Dioxide at County Hall. However, there’s a lot more work to do as this is only 9% of the total electricity used over a typical weekend at County Hall. Unfortunately, there was no reduction at Mundells and results from Apsley are due in December. Plans are now underway for the continuation of the switch-off campaign so as to firmly embed energy saving behaviors within the workplace.
Quality of Life Report 2007
5.11 The Quality of Life Report is an annual publication produced by Hertfordshire Environmental Forum (HEF). The work is led by HCC’s Forward Planning Unit. The aim of the report is to present facts about the Quality of Life in Hertfordshire, providing news and information about what it is like to live and work in Hertfordshire in a particular year.
5.12 Climate change was first included as a stand alone issue in the 2006 report. This year, four pages of the report are devoted to climate change, its impacts and how we can respond. Information is provided on climate change indicators and carbon footprints across Hertfordshire. The report will be available in early 2008.
Commissioned Research
County Surveyors Society
5.13 HCC, on behalf of the County Surveyors Society, has tendered and let a research project looking at climate change adaptation issues for professions and services falling within the remit of CSS. The project aims to identify a range of tools and guidance available on climate change adaptation issues - as well as knowledge gaps and future research needs - and is anticipated to last 4-5 months.
Adult Care Services/NHS
5.14 On behalf of the Hertfordshire Environmental Forum, HCC is leading the tendering of research to review the impacts of climate change upon the County’s NHS and Adult Care Services. Climate change has the potential to be a significant additional pressure on both the NHS and Adult Care Services in Hertfordshire.
5.15 The likely impacts of climate change on public health and quality of life in the UK are well documented. However, consideration of how this will impact on service provision is far less advanced. This project aims to expand the existing knowledge of the impacts of climate change by providing a comprehensive assessment of how services will need to respond. It is anticipated that the tender will be let in January 2008 and will be completed by July the same year.
Climate Change Website
5.16 HCC’s climate change website, whilst still under development, is now online and can be found at www.hertsdirect.org.uk/climatechange. Part of the completed work has been the development of a visual identity and website structure. Current content available tackles the science behind climate change and outlines the work being undertaken by the Authority. It is anticipated that the website will be fully developed and formally launched in parallel with the Authority’s Climate Change Strategy.
6 Regional Work Update
East of England Climate Change Partnership (EECCP): Climate Action Plan East (CAPE)
6.1 The Sustainable Development Round Table for the East of England set up a Climate Change Group which commissioned research on the impacts of climate change on the region and the adaptations needed. The resulting report Living with Climate Change in the East of England (March 2004) provides authoritative guidance for decision makers on the development of a range of policy initiatives and practical actions for regional adaptation to climate change.
6.2 The Partnership, chaired by Hertfordshire County Council, aims to:
· help the East of England to develop sustainably in a continually changing climate
· become the regional focus and provide leadership for joint activity on mitigating and adapting to climate change
6.3 The focus of the work of the Partnership is on adaptation to the changing climate. The Partnership will also work on reducing greenhouse gas emissions where it considers that issues are not adequately addressed by other organisations.
6.4 At a workshop in October 2006, the EECCP agreed that it would be useful for the region to have a Climate Change Action Plan. A proposal to develop one was agreed by EERA in February 2007 and endorsed by the Sustainable Development Round Table the following month. The overall aim of the Action Plan is an East of England which is successfully tackling climate change through:
· Reducing greenhouse gas emissions
· Adapting to its changing climate
· Taking advantage of opportunities offered by climate change
6.5 Work began by commissioning a report Review of climate change adaptation and mitigation in the East of England from consultants Atkins (available at www.sustainabilityeast.org.uk/). Work has progressed in three streams: Business and the Economy; Social and Community; the Natural Environment. Stage 1 involved looking at the work already underway and what the region’s objectives should be in tackling climate change, through meetings, interviews and a series of workshops. This culminated in a Plenary workshop in October 2007 when the Objectives for the Action Plan were drafted (see Appendix 2). These have now been subjected to a sustainable development assessment and consequently modified.
6.6 Stage 2 is now underway and aims to look at the actions in the Action Plan. It will reflect both those actions which organisations are already undertaking which will significantly help the region to tackle climate change, and further actions which are needed to achieve the Objectives.
6.7 Following the Stage 2 Plenary workshop in November 2007, the actions will be subjected to a sustainable development assessment and the Action Plan drafted. This is expected to be a short document focused on a moderate number of significant actions. A report will be prepared for the EERA, EEDA, GO-East, SDRT East and other key regional organisations for endorsement, with a launch to follow.
EEDA Cut Your Carbon Campaign
6.8 EEDA’s Cut Your Carbon Campaign is a high profile project currently being developed as a means to drive behavioural change. Developed in two parts, the first part aims to encourage communities in the region to come together and take action to become more energy efficient. The second – a competition for EEDA funding - seeks innovative ideas for projects that go beyond day to day efficiency savings and demand a higher level of community engagement.
6.9 Cut your carbon is a two year project with a possible extension to 3 years. EEDA is working towards a phased launch between end November 2007 and March 2009 with the provisional timetable for 2008 as follows:
November 2007 pre-launch briefing event for intermediaries
January 2008 launch of campaign
April 2008 launch of first round competition
June 2008 application deadline for first round applications
July 2008 20 communities short listed
September 2008 10 finalists announced