Issue - items at meetings - City Climate Change Strategy

Report of the Strategic Director, Place (copy attached).

2.1       That Cabinet endorses the City Climate Change Strategy set out at Appendix 1.

2.2       That Cabinet agrees the proposed citywide governance framework set out in paragraph 3.4;

2.3       That Cabinet directs service commissioners and heads of delivery to incorporate the aims of the strategy into service compacts and business plans;

2.4       That Cabinet encourages officers working within the City Sustainability Partnership to bring forward appropriate capital funding proposals for consideration where resources allow.

117.1          The Cabinet considered a report of the Strategic Director, Place concerning the city Climate Change Strategy, work on which had been led by the City Sustainability Partnership (CSP), on behalf of the Brighton & Hove Strategic Partnership, with the council’s strong support.

117.2          Councillor Mitchell welcomed the report and commended the officers involved and Susie Howells, Senior Sustainability Consultant, in particular for pulling together a coherent strategy. She supported the inclusion of One Planet Living and highlighted the work the council had undertaken to reduce its own carbon emissions. She noted that no new additional resources had been set aside to take the strategy forward at the current time and acknowledged that decisions would need to be made on the split between mitigation and adaptation actions.

117.3          Councillor G Theobald welcomed the citywide support for the strategy, but stated that it lacked concrete actions and ambition. He advised that it was a shame that resources had not be set aside to take the strategy forward and that there was no link between new outcomes and national targets. He welcomed the proposal to organise road works more effectively, but questioned why use of fiscal measures to discourage car use was not mentioned in the strategy.

117.4          Councillor West explained that the strategy was a framework document and that an implementation plan containing actions would follow. He urged Members to support the strategy and reiterated that it was a partnership document developed jointly with partner organisations.

117.5          The Chair reported that the Public Service Board had welcomed the strategy and highlighted the importance of the partnership approach to tackling climate change. He thanked Susie Howells and Thurstan Crockett, Head of Sustainability & Environmental Policy for their work on the strategy and added that they were working hard to raise funds through the private and Third sectors, as well as Government and European initiatives.

117.6          RESOLVED - That, having considered the information and the reasons set out in the report, the following recommendations be accepted:

(1)         That Cabinet endorses the City Climate Change Strategy set out at Appendix 1.

(2)         That Cabinet agrees the proposed citywide governance framework set out in paragraph 3.4;

(3)         That Cabinet directs service commissioners and heads of delivery to incorporate the aims of the strategy into service compacts and business plans;

(4)         That Cabinet encourages officers working within the City Sustainability Partnership to bring forward appropriate capital funding proposals for consideration where resources allow.