Cornwalls Carbon Neutral Action Plan Progress to date Update 31 st - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Cornwall’s Carbon Neutral Action Plan – Progress to date

Update 31st May - Neighbourhoods Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Meeting structure

• Introduction – Drivers for change
• Known risks to Cornwall from Climate Change
• What we have already done & where are we now?
• Evidence base on progress
• Scale and visions of change
• Building the ‘Action Plan’

– Approach & Themes – Areas of influence – Grand challenges – Early action & implementation

• Next Steps

Cornwall’s Carbon Neutral Challenge – drivers for change

Young, old and iconic are realising the gravity of the ‘Climate Emergency’ to our civilisation

The future looks very alarming indeed, but it is not too late to act. We still have time if we act now with determination and urgency. Sir David Attenborough, Climate Change – The Facts (April, 2019)

We all have a choice. We can create transformational action that will safeguard the living conditions for future generations. Or we can continue with our business as usual and fail.

Greta Thunberg,

Davos Address (Jan 2019)

Science is building consensus on need for action

To avoid exceeding the 1.5°C target, global net anthropogenic

.

CO2 emissions must decline by 45% from 2010 levels by 2030, reaching net zero around 2050

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Special Report 15 (Oct, 2018)

https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/

‘Towards Net Zero by 2050’ /

• low-carbon electricity (must quadruple its supply by 2050)
• Efficient buildings and low-carbon heating
• carbon capture and storage
• diversion of biodegradable waste from landfill
• phase-out of fluorinated gases
• Fifth of the UK’s agricultural land must shift to alternative use to support

emissions reduction

• Accelerate afforestation, biomass production and peatland restoration

Opinion is divided on urgency of action required – it is a political issue - Government at all levels is facing direct action from climate activists

Extinction Rebellion (XR) are demanding that the UK and local Governments:

• Tell the truth – declaring a climate and ecological emergency
• Act now – reducing emissions to net zero by 2025
• Go beyond politics - Creating and ceding leadership of UK climate

decisions to a Citizens’ Assembly on climate and ecological justice - replacing representative democracy with a people led participatory climate governance system.

There are still deniers however!

.

/

Is carbon neutral possible by … …?

2025 2030/35 2045/50

• Called for by XR
• Theoretically

possible -Zero Carbon Britain

• Would require

unprecedented Govt leadership and action.

• Impossible

without Govt policy support

• Shows genuine

ambition

• Significant change

at a local level could be made

• Necessary

according to some scientists.

• ‘Agreed’ IPCC and

Govt positions

• Less politically

disruptive

• Unlikely to catalyse

necessary radical change

• Could prove to be

complacent given science

The Motion

RESOLVED that the Council:

• 1. Declare a ‘climate emergency’.
• 2. Call on Westminster to provide the powers and resources necessary to

achieve the target for Cornwall to become carbon neutral by 2030 and commit to work with other Councils with similar ambitions.

• 3. Provide adequate staff time and leadership to prepare a report within

six months to establish how Cornwall can sufficiently reduce carbon emissions through energy efficiency, low-carbon fuels and investment in renewable energy and other Council strategies, plans and contracts within a timescale which is consistent with an ambition to restrain Global Warming to 1.5⁰C. This will draw together the actions Cornwall Council is already and will continue to take; and where possible, outline partners’ commitments to move towards a carbon neutral Cornwall by 2030.

Councils and Parish Councils

• Circa 113 Councils & Parish Councils have declared a climate emergency to

date

• Circa 63% have set a target of Carbon Neutrality by 2030
• UK Parliament have declared climate change emergency and net zero carbon

by 2030.

• London & Manchester both declared climate emergencies prior to close of

2018

• London committed to net zero carbon by 2050 , using existing 2018 plan
• Manchester, produced an intern plan by Feb 19. Final plan expected

before 2020

What does climate change mean for Cornwall? Known risks, impacts and

vulnerabilities

Visible impacts of climate change

Increased wind, rain and storm intensity

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Flood

Vulnerability is a function of pressures and releases – our planning and decisions matter

• Limited Access

to:

 Finance  Development

Space

 Support for

Communities

• Landscape,

Topography & Geology

• Asset

Ownership

• Poverty
• Trust in System

for Protection

Dynamic Pressures

Unsafe Conditions

Root Causes Hazards

• Lack of

Emergency Plans

• Sense of

Responsibility or Importance

• Holiday Home

Ownership

• Small or Aging

Populations

• Large Tourist

Population

• Land Use
• Property impacts

Risk

The Progression of Vulnerability

• Rapid Response

Catchments

• Pluvial Flooding

Intense Sustained

• Storm Surge & Tide

Locking

• Coastal Erosion
• Drainage System Failure
• Flood Defence Failure
• Watercourse

Erosion/Siltation

• Fragile Physical

Environment e.g.

flood defence condition

• Fragile Local

Economy e.g.

reliant on limited transport infrastructure

• Vulnerable

Society e.g. 20%

deprivation

• Fragile

Environment e.g.

agricultural runoff

Flood

Less visible / Invisible impacts

• Seasonal timing changes impacting food

chains for all species

• Seasonal disruption to energy demand

and tourism economies

• Increased risk of drought & fire risks
• Biosecurity – increase risk of diseases

and invasive species on native ecosystems

• Vulnerable UK and international supply

chains.

What have we already done and where are we now?

Previous and Existing Programmes

2011 2015 2017 2019 2016 2008 2012 2018

Cornwall’s Carbon Dioxide emissions – by source

• Cornwall has seen a c32% (1,303 ktCO2) reduction in CO2 emissions in the 11

years from 2005 (4,124 ktCO2) to 2016 (2,821 ktCO2)

• At least two thirds of the emission reductions having been achieved by

decarbonising electricity.

• The CO2 data shows Cornwall is making reasonable progress towards

meeting the Green Cornwall 2020 target of 2.99 MtCO2e (nb. CO2e target)

• 500
• 500

1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000 3,500 4,000 4,500 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Electricity Natural Gas Oil/Coal Petrol/Diesel CO2 Removal

2.8 million tonnes CO2 saved

Thousand Tonnes Carbon Dioxide

Cornwall’s Carbon Dioxide emissions – by sector

• Beyond decarbonisation of electricity the remaining reductions came

the reduced energy used for heating homes and businesses

• Transport is now Cornwall’s largest emitting sector making up 36%

(1,037 ktCO2) with a minimal reduction having occurred since 2005.

4,500 Residential 4,000 Commercial 3,500 Agriculture - Energy 3,000 Large Industrial 2,500 Road Transport 2,000 Rail Transport 1,500 CO2 Removal 1,000 500

• 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
• 500

Thousand Tonnes Carbon Dioxide

Going beyond CO2: Understanding importance of non-CO2 gases

Cornwall GHG inventory last produced 2008 data year (c14% were non-CO2 GHGs)

4.7 million tonnes CO2

CDC 2011 Greenhouse gas inventory

Cornwall GHG Inventory updates & Scenarios

University of Exeter commissioned to produce:

• GHG Inventory for 2009-2017

data years using WRI Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Inventories (GPC)

• Modelling different scenarios for

achieving carbon neutral Findings expected June

WRI (2014). GPC

Scenarios to achieve carbon neutrality - What will the analysis tell us?

Stage One: Using a standard model to provide:

• Cornwall baseline: Business as Usual (BAU)
• Scenario 1: Change required to achieve carbon neutral by

2030 (CC motion)

• Scenario 2: Change required to achieve carbon neutral by

2050 (Govt – CCC report)

Stage two: Models for achieving the Scenarios

• Different options (mixes of interventions) of how the

selected scenario can be achieved

The scale and visions of change

Carbon Neutral Means…

Getting to carbon neutral will require significant changes to the way we do things, from the energy we use, to the products and food that we buy. If guided well this can bring many additional benefits.

Unprecedented Changes – To EVERYTHING! Leadership Paradox

WAR FOOTING URGENCY + COMPLEXITY + COLABORATION = HARD CHOICES CLIMATE CHANGE

Carbon Neutral Means…

….that all the electricity we will use must come from clean production technologies, with the benefits from that energy, ideally staying in Cornwall. …our cars, homes and businesses must run on zero carbon energy sources, providing a cleaner local and global environment

The Difficult Realities

Delivering a carbon-neutral Cornwall will vary across sectors:

• Electricity will need to become zero carbon
• Road vehicles will need to be running on near zero

carbon (electric, bio-methane or hydrogen)

• Next-to-no buildings will be using oil, gas or coal to

warm them.

• Building heating will mostly come from ‘heat pumps’.

Each renewably generated megawatt will have to replace one from fossil fuels – increased energy demands will have to be met through efficiency investments

The Difficult Realities

• Planes are likely to still run on oil - other sectors

will thus need to reduce further.

• Agriculture will need to reduce fertiliser use,

reduce emissions, capture methane and carbon.

• We will need to consume less and repair more
• f our products.
• The land (and coast) will then need to be

managed to absorb the remaining CO2.

Ensuring decisions support local, long term resilience – ‘avoid acting in haste and repenting at leisure’

• Consider how we minimise spending now that

locks in spending again later i.e. building homes in flood plains; or that will need retrofitting; road designed for traffic and water

• Buildings need to be more efficient and effective

to deal with unstable climate effects

• Increasing role for Climate Risk Assessments in
• ur planning processes

Multiple benefits of the carbon neutral quest..

• Significant health benefits from better air quality, healthier diets, less noise,

more active travel

• More efficient homes and reduced fuel poverty
• Greater resilience against temperature extremes with less stress on emergency

services

• More resilient economy through better energy security
• Working practice changes can improve work-life balance and facilitate a

transition to a carbon neutral future.

• Further stimulate the local economy with new green industries and practices
• Avoidance of further climate damage

Cornwall Council’s role in moving towards carbon neutral Cornwall?

Cornwall Council’s role in the system

Areas we can influence or ask for nationally Areas we can influence locally Areas we can enable through policy Areas we can enable through funding Areas we directly control and guide

UN Sustainable Development Goals

No poverty Zero hunger Good health & wellbeing Quality education Gender equality Clean water & sanitation Affordable & clean energy Decent work & economic growth

Industry, Innovation & infrastructure

Reduced inequalities

Sustainable cities & communities Responsible production & consumption

Climate action Life below water Life on land Peace, justice & strong institutions

Partnerships for the goals

New perspectives on economic models

How are we approaching the development of

July Cabinet report

the Action Plan

Considering different sectoral areas

Environmental infrastructure/ ecosystem (Terrestrial & Marine) Water Environment Energy Agriculture & Fishing Transport Resources & Waste Business sector/ economic development Marine Community engagement Philippa Hoskin Paul Minshull Caroline Carroll David Rodda Vicky Fraser Verity Palk & Paul Martin Emily Kent Andy Brigden Mark James Built environment/ Housing Public health Education Public Sector bodies Care sector Legal Public Behaviour change/ Consumption Planning Jo Roberts Caroline Court Charlotte Hill Local & national Kerry Baily Matt Stokes Rachel Barker Louise Wood

Areas we directly control and guide

Cornwall Council’s direct role

Cornwall Council will need to show leadership delivering a net carbon-neutral estate and ensure visual influence.

• Cornwall Council estate

representing 0.4% (10,247 kTCO2/pa) of Cornwall’s carbon emissions (measured by CO2 only – less if other gases are considered)

Cornwall Council direct role

• Our governance
• Strengthen our environmental assessments in all decision

making and reporting

• Development of carbon accounting and a carbon budget
• Carbon and wider environmental reporting embedded in our
• perating data/ performance management
• Our infrastructure
• Minimum carbon standards on our properties, starting with
• ffice estate and enabling green energy on site (solar etc.)
• New build & retrofit of Cornwall housing
• Increase biodiversity and tree cover on our owned land
• Move to ultra low emission fleet
• LED lighting
• Recycling containment in council owned buildings

Cornwall Council direct role

• Strategies & policies
• Strategy, policy and vision alignment to ensure

coherence with climate change challenge

• Our skills, culture & language
• Carbon literacy programmes within the organisation
• Environmental commitments embedded in values/

cultural language

• How we work
• Office space strategy and green travel plan
• Digitising processes (reducing paper usage) and any

processes requiring internal/ paper mail

Cornwall Council direct role

• What we buy
• drive wider emissions reduction through green procurement

approaches to support delivery of low carbon services (e.g. waste and bus contracts)

• Embed carbon statements in our information we provide to

suppliers – quick win

• Procurement strategies to reduce multi-deliveries
• Financial models/ incentives/ disincentives
• Appropriate taxation/ levies/incentives/subsidies/penalties
• Charges where necessary (emissions, congestion, parking)
• Designing as a package, rather than individual interventions

Cornwall Council’s guiding role - CORSERV

• Cornwall Housing manages 10,285 homes - 3.76% of the homes in

Cornwall (est. approx. 1% of Cornwall’s emissions)

• CORMAC fleet manages over 1,000 vehicles however this only

equates to c.0.25% of Cornwall total resident vehicles (est. approx. 1% of Cornwall’s emissions)

• Cornwall Airport Limited:

flights from Cornwall Airport Newquay are being recalculated, it was 0.3% of Cornwall’s emissions based on 2008 figures

Areas we can enable through funding

Funding under direct Council control

• Capital ‘Investment’ Programme
• Capital Programme
• Highways Funding
• Councillors’ Community Chest Funds
• Services revenue budgets/ small scale

contracts

• Reserves

Areas we can influence or ask for nationally Areas we can influence locally Areas we can enable through policy Areas we can enable through funding Areas we directly control and guide

Council’s role to enable wider changes through policy

Working within national strategies & frameworks we can influence:

• Definition of local priorities:
• Energy, Industrial, Climate, Transport, Planning,

Waste, Environment, Maritime

• Planning Policies
• Facilitate move towards zero-carbon homes
• Facilitate new zero carbon generation
• Public Transport – modal shifts
• Education and Skills Pipeline
• Closing Waste Loops – promote a Circular Economy

Areas we can influence locally

Councils role to influence change locally

• Working with our partners

– City, Town & Parish Councils – Voluntary & Community sector groups across communities – Universities & Colleges – Businesses – ‘Tevi’ (environmental growth and circular economy) – Other major organisations - Govt Agencies, NHS, Police etc. – Safety Partnerships, One Public Estate, Pathfinder projects – External funding bodies – Intermediate Body Status, Culture & Heritage MOU

Areas we can influence or ask for nationally

Emerging asks of Government

• Parity for rural & coastal areas
• Increase access to climate finance
• Social, technical, ecological programmes
• Legislation & regulation of utilities
• Transport and energy infrastructure
• Local support of supply chains
• School Curriculum
• Major skills programme

Emerging asks of Government

• Planning Policy & Building Regulations
• Energy/Resilient Innovation Zones
• Coalitions to address owned fleet and estate
• Mass Retrofit
• Scrappage scheme
• Electrification of rail network
• Climate levy

Big Challenges and Grand Challenges!

Implementation time horizon Short term Medium Term Long term Solutions well known & with limited barriers to delivery

Big challenges Solutions well known, but significant barriers to delivery Grand Challenges Wicked issues requiring system change

E.g.

• Mass awareness to already developed measures e.g. electric car

charging network, 10 pledges

• Scaling up of woodland planting across unproductive county farms estate
• Cornwall council estate & fleet
• Agricultural system change
• Home retrofitting
• Enabling up-scaling of renewable energy

generation

• Increasing use of public transport
• Re-expansion of rail network
• Relocating communities

Big challenges – Transformational changes

• Mass retrofit of homes and business
• Circa 273.5k homes require retrofit.
• Cost per home currently estimated at £75k to achieve 90% CO2 reduction. Expected to drop to £30k
• ver the next decade
• 4,500 private sector rented homes currently failing to meet Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard.
• Mass modal shift for transportation
• Considerable increase in public transport use;
• Active travel - walking and cycling;
• Moving more freight away from road.
• Encouraging and enabling the uptake of ultra-low emission vehicles (e.g. hybrid, electric, hydrogen,

bio-methane) to replace fossil fueled personal, freight and public transport vehicles.

• Energy generation on unprecedented scale
• Significant upgrades to grid infrastructure including smart grid solutions
• Gigawatts of additional zero carbon energy generation
• Low carbon agriculture & food
• Small scale on-farm anaerobic digestion across Cornwall

Grand challenges – Going Further….

• Re-examining perceptions of Cornwall

– Expectations of landscape & heritage– what will we protect, grow or change? – Role of tourism – outside views, driving local incomes – New industries – fostering sustainable prosperity

• Coastal community resilience and change

– Maintaining highways on coastlines – Frequency of flooding – homes and economic disruption – Connectivity with the Isles of Scilly and rest of UK

• Circular economy

– Changing models and patterns of consumption – Zero waste

Our Early Implementers

• Strategies - Alignment of strategies to ensure to facilitate co-
• rdinated climate change action
• Governance - Strengthen our environmental assessments in

all decision making and reporting

• Our Fleet - Accelerating transfer to ultra low emission

vehicles.

• Our estate – Delivery of £16m investment programme
• Our staff – roll out of climate culture & skills programme and

green travel plan

• Transport - Work with EDRF funded partner to increase the

number of electric car charging points by a minimum of 66 over the next 3 years

Our Early Implementers

• Council Farms Estate - Installation of small scale
• n farm anaerobic digestion, upscaling of on-farm solar

and woodland planting, scoping further potential for natural climate solutions

• Development – carbon and biodiversity -

Biodiversity Net Gain from CC development/ Building with Nature & Voluntary carbon offset scheme for Cornwall

• Airport - Deployment of LED airfield lighting,

Conversion of airport grass to biomethane & Energy storage link to airport and Kernow Solar Park

• Natural climate solutions – Mass woodland &

tree planting, scoping changes to role of PROW network to drive use, potential for natural flood management interventions, environment asset management changes.

Next Steps

Actions to complete discovery phase

• Completion of GHG Inventory & Scenario modelling
• Public engagement activities

– Royal Cornwall Show – Citizen conversations across towns in Cornwall – Online survey – Promotion of 10 pledges and individual action

• Preparation of Cabinet report
• Scoping role Scrutiny

Discovery phase Define Phase Deliver phase

Options for mitigation & adaptation (medium and long term) Identify early implementers

Evaluate

• ptions,

benefits, impacts and risks Develop implementation programme Agree preferred

• ptions and

implementatio n programme Mobilise delivery programme Monitoring and evaluation Accelerated planning & implementation of immediate early implementers Stakeholder engagement

Mass retrofit of homes & businesses Low carbon agriculture & food Coastal community resilience & change Mass modal shift for transportation Reframing expectations of landscape Circular economy Consumption Energy generation Ecosystem health Strategy alignment Council governance & decision making Ultra low emission Council Fleet £16m Investment programme Council farms Estate Development offset – Carbon & biodiversity Scaling up electric charging Airport actions

Resourcing

Capital investment

• Work is being undertaken and will

continue into the next phase of the programme to determine the capital and other financial requirements necessary to deliver on the motion

• £16m already allocated from the low

Carbon Investment Fund with a further pipeline of £28m.

Resourcing programme team

• Achieving motion will require significant action from

nearly every service from within Cornwall Council and from every person, community and business across Cornwall

• Responding to climate change will require

additional capacity within services to design and implement changes into the Council’s day to day

• perations.
• Dedicated core programme team will be required to

provide leadership, co-ordinate our planning &

• versee delivery.
• Programme team structure still in development but

will consist of:

• Senior Accountable Officer & Programme lead
• Project & Change Management
• Communication & Engagement
• Intelligence & modelling
• Sector leadership & subject matter expertise

Influence & local system National Councils direct leadership support control

Ministry Housing, Department for Department for HM Treasury Communities & Local Business, Energy & Education Government Industrial Strategy Citizens engagement & participation Programme Board Core Programme Team Corporate Directors Team Neighbourhood Overview Scrutiny Committee Cabinet CIOS Leadership Board Town & Parish Council’s Public Sector bodies Local Enterprise Partnership Local Nature Partnership Community Sector Transport Environment Housing Energy Waste Network Leads Business Sector …. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs Department for Transport Department for Health & Social Care Cabinet Office

Public & Community engagement

Climate Conversations in Cornwall – strengthening localism and democracy

– Residents Panel (1000 members) – 213 Local Councils – Community Network Panels – Green Champions – Youth Parliament & Young People’s Conversations – Supporting individual action through communications – Expertise sharing workshops – Scrutiny processes

Being a good partner to communities and individuals

• Shared Spaces – create facilitated spaces for safe

conversations

• Shared Values – to navigate challenging conversations
• Shared Principles – to approach creating solutions

with, e.g. Participative, Localised, Equitable

• Shared Goals – to generate mutual understanding of

responsibilities and actions

• Shared Outcomes – to share impacts fairly

Summary & close

July Cabinet report will conclude our discovery phase and set

• ut:
• how far we have progressed and how far we still need to go to reach

net carbon neutrality

• The short term actions that the Council can take directly, along with

longer term aspirations

• The systemic changes needed and the actions that are required from

Government to support the transition to carbon neutrality

• How we will can work collaboratively to co-design our future

solutions

• Q. What level of ambition would NOSC members

wish to recommend to Cabinet?