Report of the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer

This report provides an update on the work programme for the third year of the Climate Change Action Plan.

The Committee considered the report of the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer that provided an update on the actions to be progressed in Year 3 of the Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP) 2020-25.  

Key points and themes in the report included:

·         The achievements and highlights of Year 2 will be detailed in the Annual Report 2021-22 which will be published in the Autumn of 2022 and will be available on the Council’s website;

·         Describing that a refresh of the CCAP 2020-25 was currently underway and would be completed in Autumn 2022;

·         The refresh would align the CCAP to wider strategies, such as the Local Plan;

·         Reiterating that the Council remained committed to maintaining transparency and would continue to publish quarterly progress reports on the Council’s website; and

·         Providing a description of the actions and priorities against five workstreams.

Some of the key points that arose from the Committee’s discussions were: -

·         Welcoming the report and the information provided;

·         Reiterating the call made previously by the Committee for an end to the use of Glyphosate as a method of weed control across the city;

·         The report did not present any SMART targets for the activities described;

·         The need to clearly articulate the progress made to reduce carbon emissions so this was accessible and relevant to residents;

·         An update was sought in relation to Carbon Literacy Training;

·         The need to meaningfully engage with the Manchester Community Assembly on Climate Change;

·         What support was offered by the Council to the Climate Change Partnership; and

·         The issue of shading and heat stress across the public realm needed to be included in Workstream 4: Climate Adaptation and Carbon Sequestration. Noting the emerging evidence in relation to the ‘heat island’ effect of cities and the impact this had on individuals and the wider contribution to the heating of the planet.

In response the Executive Member for Environment and Transport advised the Committee that the policy in relation to the use of Glyphosate would be circulated to all Members for information. She advised that the Council was committed to reducing the use of this and that alternative methods of weed control across different settings were being considered. She noted that the Committee would be receiving a report on this issue at a future meeting. She advised that residents could opt out of having this used in a neighbourhood, on the condition that they would then take responsibility for removing the weeds themselves. She further advised that she would relay the comments from the meeting to Councillor Igbon, Executive Member for Vibrant Neighbourhoods.

The Zero Carbon Manager advised that the Manchester City Council Climate Change Action Plan was the Council’s detailed plan and contained targets and deadlines agreed against actions. The Strategic Lead, Resources & Programmes added that this report provided an overview of the coming year’s priorities and had previously been requested by the Committee, however he noted the way this report and information provided to future meetings would be reviewed, noting the comments from Members. He further stated that the information that was published on the Council’s website would be reviewed to ensure that it was appropriate for both Members and residents to access information in relation to the range of actions and activities undertaken by the Council to address climate change.

The Executive Member for Environment and Transport advised that both herself and the team remained committed to arranging any briefing sessions or training for Members of the Committee on the activities and work to tackle climate change.

The Strategic Lead, Resources & Programmes informed the Committee that they did engage in continued dialogue with the Community Assembly on Climate Change. Further, he informed the Members that the Council was an active partner, along with the Universities and Bruntwood in the Oxford Road Corridor Partnership. He further commented that these established links with the local Universities facilitated the understanding and implementation of new innovations and understandings to address climate change.

The Strategic Lead, Resources & Programmes advised that he would relay the comments regarding heat stress and the public realm to colleagues in the planning department. The Head of City Policy advised that as part of the Local Plan, consideration was being given to developing policies to deliver zero carbon new build.

The Principal Resources & Programmes Officerinformed the Committee that to date 1,400 staff and 54 Councillors were certified as having completed the Carbon Literacy Training. She advised that this training was now mandatory for staff. She further stated that the ambition was for the Council to achieve Gold standard accreditation for this activity, and a dedicated resource had been allocated to deliver this ambition.

The Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer advised that the Committee would be considering the Climate Change Action Plan 2020/25 Refresh at the September meeting and consideration would be given to resilience and adaptation as part of this reporting. She reiterated the commitment that addressing climate change was embedded across all Council decision making.

Decision

To note the report.