Agenda item

To consider an update on regional progress towards tackling the climate and ecological emergencies and seeking approval to adopt a revised regional Climate and Ecological Strategy and Action Plan (CESAP) 2023; and expand the Green Recovery Fund (GRF) to £60m.

The West of England Combined Authority Committee RESOLVED to:

1.    Note progress on Climate and Ecological Strategy and Action Plan 2022 actions, as set out in Appendix 2.

2.    Adopt the Climate and Ecological Strategy and Action Plan 2023 as set out in Appendix 3.

3.    Support expansion of the Green Recovery Fund by £10m to invest in priority projects that target the climate and ecological emergencies, including allocating £6m from the existing Combined Authority Investment Fund headroom as shown in Table 8.1 of this Report.

4.    Note that, as part of the Green Recovery Fund expansion, further development work will take place to determine supply and demand for green construction skills, building on the Post 16 Education and Infrastructure Report and aligning with a refreshed West of England Employment and Skills Plan, with an update to come to June 2023 Committee meeting.

Metro Mayor Dan Norris introduced a report which highlighted the need for the West of England to work in partnership and to invest in bold actions to address these climate change challenges. The report updated the Committee on regional progress towards tackling the climate and ecological emergencies and sought approval to adopt a revised regional Climate and Ecological Strategy and Action Plan (CESAP) 2023 and to expand the Green Recovery Fund (GRF) to £60m.

The following comments were made:

·       Councillor Savage welcomed the progress set out in the report and specifically welcomed the tree canopy project and the Frome Valley River Reserve initiative.  He further stated that he believed the key priorities for next year seemed right but he thought it would be useful to define the likely gap in meeting the 2030 emissions targets.  He also felt that the region’s coal mining heritage could help to potentially provide heating and hot water for schools, hospitals and public buildings.  The Local Authority Support Advice service and stressed the importance that this be bolstered with Combined Authority funding;

·       Councillor Savage stated that it was acknowledged that significant skills training would be needed to meet the region’s climate targets, estimated at around 50,000 additional jobs which was a significant opportunity for SGS college and other regional training centres.  SGS had trialled combining training with retrofitting and improving their own buildings which could be replicated elsewhere.  He stated that a significant proportion of students lived outside the West of England area and many of the students lived in some of the most deprived areas of the region;

·       Mayor Marvin Rees stated that the challenge was a scale and pace not encountered previously and authorities could not afford any missteps on making progress in this field.  The evaluation programme should be constantly reviewed.  He emphasised the importance of the different authorities working together on this challenge and pool resources where necessary to better coordinate while being mindful of duplication of efforts.  Unlocking of private and public investment would be key.  3CI had identified significant funding opportunities.  The urban summit was also looking at the future of cities and inputting how to decarbonise cities in the future.  He said that the impacts of climate change often affected the most vulnerable who were also in danger of being ‘structured out’ of the economy so it was important that the right skills opportunities were in place.  All jobs should be ‘green’ jobs;

·       Mayor Marvin Rees also asked that a clarification be made on on-street EV charging as BCC wanted to proceed with charging hubs but did have reservations on lamppost charging.  He asked that the allocation of money for this to BCC be confirmed;

·       Councillor Richard Samuel focussed on the need for greater uptake on public transport as people needed a viable alternative to using their cars.  In the region the viable alternative was mainly bus services.  When the service was not reliable then they turned to their cars.  He asked that more effort be put into this area in the future;

·       Councillor Richard Samuel stated that his Council was about to introduce a charging trial.  He welcomed the liveable neighbourhoods plan but should not underestimate the challenge of bringing the population with the proposals as they were mainly supportive of climate change initiatives as a principle but some of the policy implementation was not so popular once it inconvenienced them personally; In respect of housing retrofitting he explained that there were many listed buildings in Bath and North East Somerset which would be exceptionally difficult to bring up to modern energy efficiency standards.  However it would be good to trial emerging technologies, with the support of the Bath Preservation Trust to do something innovative;

Metro Mayor Dan Norris thanked staff for securing the Great Avon Wood tree planting project. 

The recommendations were moved by Metro Mayor Dan Norris and seconded by Councillor Toby Savage.

[Voting arrangements: Decision required majority agreement of Committee Members in attendance, or their substitutes (one vote representing each Authority) and including the West of England Combined Authority Mayor].

The West of England Combined Authority Committee unanimously RESOLVED to:

1.    Note progress on Climate and Ecological Strategy and Action Plan 2022 actions, as set out in Appendix 2.

2.    Adopt the Climate and Ecological Strategy and Action Plan 2023 as set out in Appendix 3.

3.    Support expansion of the Green Recovery Fund by £10m to invest in priority projects that target the climate and ecological emergencies, including allocating £6m from the existing Combined Authority Investment Fund headroom as shown in Table 8.1 of this Report.

4.    Note that, as part of the Green Recovery Fund expansion, further development work will take place to determine supply and demand for green construction skills, building on the Post 16 Education and Infrastructure Report and aligning with a refreshed West of England Employment and Skills Plan, with an update to come to June 2023 Committee meeting.