The
Overview and Scrutiny Officer, Biodiversity and Climate Change,
introduced her report providing an update on the progress made on
the preparation of an Action Plan to address climate change and
biodiversity following the adoption by the Council of a motion
recognising global climate and biodiversity emergencies in April
2019.
It was
noted that:
·
A Working Group had been established to research
matters and prepare an Action Plan for consideration at this
meeting of the Committee. The Working
Group had prepared an initial draft but due to the reprioritisation
of work to respond to COVID-19, it was now proposed to submit the
Action Plan for consideration at the June meeting of the
Committee. The additional time was
being used productively with Officers working with the Carbon Trust
to understand carbon emissions from the Council’s estate,
fleet and activities; using information from the residents’
survey to inform the Action Plan; and seeking input from Heads of
Service on ways to address the issues.
·
The Action Plan was a living document and would be
informed by further good practice as it emerged over
time.
During
the discussion, it was suggested and agreed that to provide more
flexibility in times of uncertainty and to enable feedback to be
taken into consideration, the Officers be requested to report the
Action Plan back to the Committee as soon as it is
practicable.
RESOLVED: That the
delay in reporting the Biodiversity and Climate Change Action Plan
to the Committee be noted and that the Action Plan be reported to
the Committee as soon as it is practicable.