Carbon Neutral Cornwall We hope that the Localism workshops, for - PDF document

Information Classification: PUBLIC Localism workshop Carbon Neutral Cornwall We hope that the Localism workshops, for Cornwall’s local councils and community groups, will help you and us to benefit from sharing knowledge, ideas, resources and solutions. The Council can’t make Cornwall carbon neutral on our own and we know there is a huge amount of expertise within Cornwall’s communities. Thanks to you and other people like you there is some great work happening right across Cornwall to help communities become net carbon neutral and to tackle climate change together. I’d like to thank you for joining us today and am really interested to hear about what you are all doing. I’m going to give you a quick update on what the Council is doing now. 1

Information Classification: PUBLIC Cornwall Council – Climate emergency The risks in Cornwall 1. Disadvantaged and vulnerable most likely to be impacted 2. Vulnerable coastline 3. Seasonal changes will impact food chains The Motion: January 2019 1. Declare a ‘climate emergency’ 2. Lobby for resources and powers 3. Prepare an Action Plan towards carbon neutrality by 2030 published July 2019 Cornwall is one of least developed areas in Europe with a series of challenges including fuel and transport poverty that will be further impacted by climate change. The Council declared a climate emergency and provided resources to develop the Action Plan that has shaped the Council’s initial activity, required to transition towards becoming carbon neutral by 2030. This is an ambitious target, that will require us all to act in our capacity as residents and local leaders in Cornwall. 2

Information Classification: PUBLIC Cornwall’s carbon footprint After declaring an emergency, it was important to appreciate Cornwall’s current carbon footprint to understand the highest emitting sectors and help inform the areas we needed to focus on. In developing the Action Plan we also spoke to thousands of residents to understand their views on the options we were considering. Based on the data available at the time Cornwall’s current carbon footprint is 4 million tonnes of Co2e. Preliminary figures, since the last Greenhouse Gas inventory, tell us that Cornwall’s Co2e footprint has reduced by around 19.5% since 2011, primarily due to the 37% of our electricity that now comes from renewable sources. 3

Information Classification: PUBLIC Cornwall’s greenhouse gas emissions Cornwall’s carbon emissions come from four main areas: • Commercial / industrial buildings • Road transport • Heating and running our homes, and • Agriculture The other areas are important too but reducing green house gases in the four main areas will achieve the biggest results towards carbon neutrality. 4

Information Classification: PUBLIC Do nothing v aiming for 2030 / 2050 We all know that doing nothing isn’t an option. The Government has set a target for the UK to become carbon neutral by 2050. Cornwall Council has set a target for Cornwall to become carbon neutral by 2030; that will be much harder but if we aim to achieve more we will make a difference sooner so by 2050 we will be able to make a bigger difference. 5

Information Classification: PUBLIC Building on what has already been achieved We are building on previous work such projects under the Green Cornwall programme: • Retrofitting houses • Installing electric vehicle infrastructure • Promoting community projects • Developing potential new forms of power (geothermal). The Environmental Growth Strategy is driving major investments in innovative flood reduction programmes, biodiversity improvements and business engagement. Local Transport Plan – working to transform and integrate the public transport network and improve rail services as well as promoting active travel, identifying town wide walking and cycling networks. We are not starting from scratch. We are building on existing programmes of work including: The Green Cornwall programme, Environmental Growth Strategy and Local Transport Plan which all have a green growth focus alongside the 50:50 Future Cornwall Strategy. Within our Carbon Neutral Cornwall programme: • We have already invested in the UK’s first deep geothermal heat and power projects at United Downs and the Eden Project ‐ with the potential to create a new energy sector for the UK • We are one of the only regions of the UK to see an increase in public transport use and that has led to us securing £23 million to support new bus subsidies, which will start during 2020 to help reduce bus fares, and • We are capturing methane from slurry pits on some of our own Council owned farms that is being adapted as bio ‐ fuel that is being used in our first CORMAC bio ‐ gas van and to run a ‘Hot Box’ road resurfacing machine. 6

Information Classification: PUBLIC Cornwall Council’s role in the system Areas we directly control and guide Areas we can enable through funding Areas we can enable through policy Areas we can influence locally Areas we can influence or ask for nationally Cornwall Council emissions account for around 1.5% of Cornwall as a whole and it is important that we acknowledge our role in the areas we can control and the need for systems leadership to deliver on the ambitious target. In developing our Action Plan we looked at what is directly within our control, what we can enable and influence through our funding and policy, along with what we will need to ask for nationally. We have a direct role in making changes to Council services and the responsibilities within our direct control ‐ for example our buildings, highways and waste, but will need to work with others to tackle the other 98.5% of emissions. We can’t do this on our own and we need the ‘hive mind’ of Cornwall to help. 7

Information Classification: PUBLIC Striving towards Carbon Neutral Cornwall As well as getting our own house in order to strive towards becoming a Carbon Neutral Council, we are working with different sectors to help Cornwall become carbon neutral as well. There are several areas we have to focus on for Cornwall to reach carbon neutrality: • All the electricity we use must ultimately come from clean production technologies • Road vehicles will need to be running on near zero carbon • We will need to consume less and repair more of our products • Next to no buildings will have to use oil, gas or coal to warm them • Our land (and coast) will need to be managed differently to absorb more CO 2 • We will need to focus on clean growth, and • We will need to create less waste, recycle and compost more, and be more innovative to create circular economies. 8

Information Classification: PUBLIC Our Action Plan – three emerging programmes • Council’s Operational Programme: Councils’ control • Cornwall Facilitation Programme: Council as enabler or partner • Cornwall Regional and National Programme: Working across border and with Government Cornwall Council’s Action Plan is split into three parts acknowledging our role in the system: • an operational programme that focuses on getting our own house in order, and leading by example and sharing good practice • the areas we can facilitate as an enabler or partner through funding, policy and partnership working and • where we can build on our strong track record of delivery, and work with other regions and the Government to secure additional powers and funding to respond to the climate emergency. 9

Information Classification: PUBLIC Update on Cabinet’s early priorities Whole House Retrofit Climate Change Delivery Plan Document (DPD) Forest For Cornwall Since July last year we have focused initially on three immediate priority projects, identified in our Action Plan, and we have made good progress on them: We have secured funding from the Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and SSE Energy, and the Council is contributing £2m to create a £4m fund for our Whole House Retrofit Project that will reduce the running costs of 83 Cornwall Council owned homes ‐ by up to 20% and carbon emissions by 80%. Work has commenced on a Climate Change Development Plan Document or DPD which will provide policy for requiring future development in Cornwall to be more energy efficient; the use of renewables; and managing coastal change and flood areas. We have Rob with us today to tell you more about that later. The first trees towards the 8,000 hectare Forest for Cornwall were planted in Saltash in December with the help of residents, volunteers and local schoolchildren, the Town Council, and representatives from 10

partner organisations, charities and businesses. Everyone can let our Forest for Cornwall team know of any trees planted using the contact form on our website cornwall.gov.uk/forestforcornwall where we also have a tree ‐ o ‐ meter that is tracking how many trees have been planted ‐ which is currently over 52,000. We have Roxana with us today to help with any queries you have about the Forest for Cornwall. 10