Agenda item

To consider the following motion submitted by Councillors Kevin Frea, Andrew Kay, Caroline Jackson and Tim Hamilton-Cox;

 

“Full Council Notes:

 

Lancaster City Council has already committed to reducing carbon emissions to zero by 2050, but the recent IPCC Report shows it is imperative that this target is reached much sooner. Lancaster City Council can play its role. Business as usual is clearly no longer an option. We need local wisdom to increase our resilience and to prepare for the climate changes already in the system.

 

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 1.5°C report, published in October 2018, humanity has 12 years for “ambitious action from national and sub-national authorities, civil society, the private sector, indigenous peoples and local communities” to deliver the “rapid and far-reaching transitions in land, energy, industry, buildings, transport, and cities” needed to turn this around, so we can avoid reaching tipping points where we no longer have the ability to avoid extreme weather events.

 

It is vital that rural communities play their part in reducing carbon emissions.

 

Bold climate action can deliver economic benefits in terms of new jobs, new income streams, and localising wealth generation; as well as improved well-being for people locally and worldwide.

 

Our inspiration:

 

A number of City & District Councils, together with the Mayor of London, have passed motions declaring a ‘Climate Emergency’.

 

We, the undersigned, therefore call on Lancaster City Council to

 

1.    Declare a ‘Climate Emergency’;

 

2.    Support the setting up of a Climate Change Advisory Board immediately, involving Councillors, residents, businesses, experts from the two Universities and other relevant parties. Over the following 6 months, the Board will revisit and update the 2010 Lancaster City Council Climate Change Strategy and help the Council develop a new carbon budget taking into account both production and consumption emissions (scope 1, 2 and 3) and set a target date of 2030, to:

 

• make the Council’s activities net-zero carbon;

• Consider systematically the climate change impact of each area of the Council’s activities;

• increase local resilience to climate impacts already in the system;

• maximise local benefits of these actions in other sectors such as health, agriculture, transport and the economy;

• support and work with all other relevant agencies towards making the Lancaster District zero carbon within the same timescale.

 

We recognize the current financial constraints that the Council faces and expect that both the development and implementation of a carbon budget are likely to need a significant measure of additional external funding. Some of the potential actions may have a positive or neutral financial impact.

 

Actions that could be recommended include: increasing the energy efficiency of buildings; prioritizing these measures for council housing and private sector housing to address fuel poverty; building solar and other renewable energy generating and storage plant; requiring all new housing and commercial developments to be low carbon; replacing the vehicle fleet with electric and/or hydrogen powered vehicles;, switching to 100% renewable energy; setting up a council run energy company (eg. Robin Hood Energy) and adapting the Council’s purchasing policy.

 

3.    Prepare a report on methods for conducting a consultation with young people and creating a young people’s climate panel.

 

4.    Task a director level officer with responsibility for reducing, as rapidly as possible, the carbon emissions resulting from the Council’s activities;

 

5.    Call on the UK Government to provide the powers, resources and help with funding to make this possible;

 

6.    Work with partners across the district, county and region to help deliver this new goal through all relevant strategies, plans and shared resources;

 

7.    Require all officer reports to Cabinet and Full Council to contain Impact assessments on Climate Change that include Carbon Emission Appraisals, including presenting alternative approaches which reduce emissions wherever possible;

 

8.    Produce a report to the next Full Council on the level of investment in the fossil fuel industry that our pensions plan and other investments have;

 

9.    Amend the Council’s Investment Strategy to give due weight to climate change targets in the portfolio of investments.

 

10.  Report to full Council by the end of 2019 with a fully costed action plan to address this emergency.”

 

An officer briefing note is attached.

The following motion, of which notice had been given to the Chief Executive in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 15, was moved by Councillor Frea and seconded by Councillor Kay:-

 

“Full Council Notes:

 

Lancaster City Council has already committed to reducing carbon emissions to zero by 2050, but the recent IPCC Report shows it is imperative that this target is reached much sooner. Lancaster City Council can play its role. Business as usual is clearly no longer an option. We need local wisdom to increase our resilience and to prepare for the climate changes already in the system.

 

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 1.5°C report, published in October 2018, humanity has 12 years for “ambitious action from national and sub-national authorities, civil society, the private sector, indigenous peoples and local communities” to deliver the “rapid and far-reaching transitions in land, energy, industry, buildings, transport, and cities” needed to turn this around, so we can avoid reaching tipping points where we no longer have the ability to avoid extreme weather events.

 

It is vital that rural communities play their part in reducing carbon emissions.

 

Bold climate action can deliver economic benefits in terms of new jobs, new income streams, and localising wealth generation; as well as improved well-being for people locally and worldwide.

 

Our inspiration:

 

A number of City & District Councils, together with the Mayor of London, have passed motions declaring a ‘Climate Emergency’.

 

We, the undersigned, therefore call on Lancaster City Council to

 

1)  Declare a ‘Climate Emergency’;

 

2)  Support the setting up of a Climate Change Advisory Board immediately, involving Councillors, residents, businesses, experts from the two Universities and other relevant parties. Over the following 6 months, the Board will revisit and update the 2010 Lancaster City Council Climate Change Strategy and help the Council develop a new carbon budget taking into account both production and consumption emissions (scope 1, 2 and 3) and set a target date of 2030, to:

 

•      make the Council’s activities net-zero carbon;

•      Consider systematically the climate change impact of each area of the Council’s activities;

•      increase local resilience to climate impacts already in the system;

•      maximise local benefits of these actions in other sectors such as health, agriculture, transport and the economy;

•      support and work with all other relevant agencies towards making the Lancaster District zero carbon within the same timescale.

 

We recognize the current financial constraints that the Council faces and expect that both the development and implementation of a carbon budget are likely to need a significant measure of additional external funding. Some of the potential actions may have a positive or neutral financial impact.

 

Actions that could be recommended include: increasing the energy efficiency of buildings; prioritizing these measures for council housing and private sector housing to address fuel poverty; building solar and other renewable energy generating and storage plant; requiring all new housing and commercial developments to be low carbon; replacing the vehicle fleet with electric and/or hydrogen powered vehicles;, switching to 100% renewable energy; setting up a council run energy company (eg. Robin Hood Energy) and adapting the Council’s purchasing policy.

 

3)  Prepare a report on methods for conducting a consultation with young people and creating a young people’s climate panel.

 

4)  Task a director level officer with responsibility for reducing, as rapidly as possible, the carbon emissions resulting from the Council’s activities;

 

5)  Call on the UK Government to provide the powers, resources and help with funding to make this possible;

 

6)  Work with partners across the district, county and region to help deliver this new goal through all relevant strategies, plans and shared resources;

 

7)  Require all officer reports to Cabinet and Full Council to contain Impact assessments on Climate Change that include Carbon Emission Appraisals, including presenting alternative approaches which reduce emissions wherever possible;

 

8)  Produce a report to the next Full Council on the level of investment in the fossil fuel industry that our pensions plan and other investments have;

 

9)  Amend the Council’s Investment Strategy to give due weight to climate change targets in the portfolio of investments.

 

10)         Report to full Council by the end of 2019 with a fully costed action plan to address this emergency.”

 

An amendment to the motion, which was presented in the form of a revision to the whole motion, was moved by Councillor Robinson, seconded by Councillor Betts-Patel:-

 

“Full Council Notes:

 

Lancaster City Council has already committed to reducing carbon emissions to zero by 2050, but the recent IPCC Report shows it is imperative that this target is reached much sooner. Lancaster City Council can play its role in preventing and adapting to dangerous and extreme weather events. 

 

Extreme weather events over the last few years have presented severe challenges to property, transport, agriculture and other services in the Lancaster & Morecambe area and have led to the deaths and displacement of thousands/millions of people worldwide. Many organisations have been working tirelessly for years to try to limit climate change, but action must happen faster.  Business as usual is clearly no longer an option. We need local wisdom to increase our resilience and to prepare for the climate changes already in the system.

 

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 1.5C report, published in October 2018, humanity has 12 years for “ambitious action from national and sub-national authorities, civil society, the private sector, indigenous peoples and local communities” to deliver the “rapid and far-reaching transitions in land, energy, industry, buildings, transport, and cities” needed to turn this around, so we can avoid reaching tipping points where we no longer have the ability to avoid extreme weather events. It is vital that rural communities play their part in reducing carbon emissions, especially as there are potential benefits for land-use.

We recognise the current financial constraints that the council faces and expect both development and implementation of a carbon budget to need significant amounts of additional external funding. Some of the potential actions however may have a positive or neutral financial impact. Bold climate action can deliver economic benefits in terms of new jobs, economic savings and market opportunities, as well as improved well-being for people locally and worldwide.

 

A number of City & District Councils, together with the Mayor of London, have passed motions declaring a ‘Climate Emergency’.

 

We, the undersigned, therefore call on Lancaster City Council to:

 

1)  Declare a ‘Climate Emergency’, which involves taking action outlined in the following clauses;

2)  Support the setting up of a Climate Change Cabinet Liaison group immediately, involving Councillors, residents, young citizens and experts from the two Universities and other relevant parties. Over the following 12 months, the Group will review the 2010 Lancaster City Council Climate Change Strategy and help the Council develop a new carbon budget taking into account both production and consumption of emissions;

 

·           Call on the UK Government to provide the powers, resources and help with funding to make this possible;

·           Draw upon the observations, insights and reports of the Citizens’ Assembly;

·           Review the Council’s Investment Strategy to give due weight to Climate Change targets in the Investment portfolio;

·           Report to Full Council prior to the next budget cycle with a fully costed action plan to address this emergency to feed into the 2020 budget;

 

3)  Request that the Cabinet member with responsibility for Climate Change, working with the Climate Change Cabinet Liaison group, convenes a Citizens’ Assembly in 2019 in order to help identify how the Council’s activities might be made net-zero carbon by 2030;

 

·         To consider systematically the climate change impact of each area of the Council’s activities;

·         To increase local resilience to climate impacts already in the system;

·         To maximise local benefits of these actions in other sectors such as health, agriculture, transport and the economy;

·         To support and with all other relevant agencies towards making the Lancaster District Zero Carbon within the same timescale;

·           Other actions that could be recommended include (but are not restricted to): increasing the efficiency of buildings; prioritizing these measures for council housing and private sector housing to address fuel poverty; building solar and other renewable energy generating and storage plant; requiring all new housing and commercial developments to be low carbon; replacing the vehicle fleet with electric and/or hydrogen powered vehicles; switching to 100% fossil-fuel-free energy; setting up a council run energy company (i.e. Robin Hood Energy) and adapting the council’s purchasing policy; commissioning consultations with the district’s young citizens, who will be most affected by the effects of climate change;

 

4)  Request that the Cabinet member with responsibility for climate change should take steps to proactively include young citizens in the process, being attentive of the fact that young citizens are frequently not on the electoral roll, due to being under 18, due to under-registration or due to living in Student/other temporary Accommodation;

 

5)  Where necessary officer reports to Cabinet and Full Council to contain impact assessments on Climate Change that include Carbon Emission Appraisals, including presenting alternative approaches which reduce carbon emissions where possible;

 

6)  Work with partners across the district, county and region to help deliver this new goal through all relevant strategies, plans and shared resources;

 

7)  Request a report from our pension funds and investment managers on the levels of investment in the fossil fuel industry that our pensions plan and other investments have, to be delivered within 3 months;

 

8)  In recognition of the seriousness of the financial constraints that the Council faces, and the expectation that both the development and implementation of many measures above are likely to be contingent on securing significant additional extra funding, we therefore call upon the District’s local MPs to ensure that Central government provides the powers, resources and funding to make this possible, and should write to them to seek their commitments.”

 

With the agreement of his seconder, Councillor Frea accepted this as a friendly amendment.

There was debate on the amended motion, during which Councillor Edwards proposed a further amendment, which was also accepted as a friendly amendment by Councillors Frea and Kay. This was to add (after point 6):

 

“This Council supports Lancashire’s public health group on air quality in Lancashire the “Air Quality Champions Network” and requests that a City Councillor be put forward to attend meetings.”

 

At the conclusion of the debate a vote was taken and the motion was carried unanimously.

 

Resolved:-

 

Full Council Notes:

 

Lancaster City Council has already committed to reducing carbon emissions to zero by 2050, but the recent IPCC Report shows it is imperative that this target is reached much sooner. Lancaster City Council can play its role in preventing and adapting to dangerous and extreme weather events. 

 

Extreme weather events over the last few years have presented severe challenges to property, transport, agriculture and other services in the Lancaster & Morecambe area and have led to the deaths and displacement of thousands/millions of people worldwide. Many organisations have been working tirelessly for years to try to limit climate change, but action must happen faster.  Business as usual is clearly no longer an option. We need local wisdom to increase our resilience and to prepare for the climate changes already in the system.

 

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 1.5C report, published in October 2018, humanity has 12 years for “ambitious action from national and sub-national authorities, civil society, the private sector, indigenous peoples and local communities” to deliver the “rapid and far-reaching transitions in land, energy, industry, buildings, transport, and cities” needed to turn this around, so we can avoid reaching tipping points where we no longer have the ability to avoid extreme weather events. It is vital that rural communities play their part in reducing carbon emissions, especially as there are potential benefits for land-use.

We recognise the current financial constraints that the council faces and expect both development and implementation of a carbon budget to need significant amounts of additional external funding. Some of the potential actions however may have a positive or neutral financial impact. Bold climate action can deliver economic benefits in terms of new jobs, economic savings and market opportunities, as well as improved well-being for people locally and worldwide.

 

A number of City & District Councils, together with the Mayor of London, have passed motions declaring a ‘Climate Emergency’.

 

The City Council therefore:

 

Declares a ‘Climate Emergency’, which involves taking action outlined in the following clauses;

 

1)  Supports the setting up of a Climate Change Cabinet Liaison group immediately, involving Councillors, residents, young citizens and experts from the two Universities and other relevant parties. Over the following 12 months, the Group will review the 2010 Lancaster City Council Climate Change Strategy and help the Council develop a new carbon budget taking into account both production and consumption of emissions;

 

·         Calls on the UK Government to provide the powers, resources and help with funding to make this possible;

·         Draws upon the observations, insights and reports of the Citizens’ Assembly;

·         Reviews the Council’s Investment Strategy to give due weight to Climate Change targets in the Investment portfolio;

·         Reports to Full Council prior to the next budget cycle with a fully costed action plan to address this emergency to feed into the 2020 budget;

 

2)  Requests that the Cabinet member with responsibility for Climate Change, working with the Climate Change Cabinet Liaison group, convenes a Citizens’ Assembly in 2019 in order to help identify how the Council’s activities might be made net-zero carbon by 2030;

 

·         To consider systematically the climate change impact of each area of the Council’s activities;

·         To increase local resilience to climate impacts already in the system;

·         To maximise local benefits of these actions in other sectors such as health, agriculture, transport and the economy;

·         To support and with all other relevant agencies towards making the Lancaster District Zero Carbon within the same timescale;

·         Other actions that could be recommended include (but are not restricted to): increasing the efficiency of buildings; prioritizing these measures for council housing and private sector housing to address fuel poverty; building solar and other renewable energy generating and storage plant; requiring all new housing and commercial developments to be low carbon; replacing the vehicle fleet with electric and/or hydrogen powered vehicles; switching to 100% fossil-fuel-free energy; setting up a council run energy company (i.e. Robin Hood Energy) and adapting the council’s purchasing policy; commissioning consultations with the district’s young citizens, who will be most affected by the effects of climate change;

 

3)  Requests that the Cabinet member with responsibility for climate change should take steps to proactively include young citizens in the process, being attentive of the fact that young citizens are frequently not on the electoral roll, due to being under 18, due to under-registration or due to living in Student/other temporary Accommodation;

 

4)  Where necessary officer reports to Cabinet and Full Council contain impact assessments on Climate Change that include Carbon Emission Appraisals, including presenting alternative approaches which reduce carbon emissions where possible;

 

5)  Works with partners across the district, county and region to help deliver this new goal through all relevant strategies, plans and shared resources;

 

6)  Supports Lancashire’s public health group on air quality in Lancashire the “Air Quality Champions Network” and requests that a City Councillor be put forward to attend meetings.

 

7)  Requests a report from our pension funds and investment managers on the levels of investment in the fossil fuel industry that our pensions plan and other investments have, to be delivered within 3 months;

 

8)  In recognition of the seriousness of the financial constraints that the Council faces, and the expectation that both the development and implementation of many measures above are likely to be contingent on securing significant additional extra funding, that the District’s local MPs be called upon to ensure that Central government provides the powers, resources and funding to make this possible, and that Council writes to them to seek their commitments.

 

(Council adjourned at this point, having been in session for two hours, and reconvened at 8.10pm, with the Mayor back in the Chair.)