Agenda item

To hear from Extinction Rebellion Southwark in respect of the council’s climate action plan.

The committee received a presentation from Eloise and Megan, representatives of Extinction Rebellion Southwark, in relation to the council’s climate strategy and action plan (the presentation is available to view on the meeting agenda page).

Eloise informed the committee the Extinction Rebellion Southwark had been engaged with various council processes in the past and have been engaged with policy process since the council first declared a climate emergency and hade this year been participating in the New Southwark Plan and trying to l bring climate action to the whole council policy.  As a national group they were seeking for there to be more citizen assemblies.  They had also been supporting the council on the oversight panel for the Southwark Citizens Jury.  Eloise saw the jury as the convening of local experts or people who were passionate about the climate crisis with a broad set of views.  Eloise informed the meeting that she had participated in the grading of local authority action plans.

In addressing the overview and scrutiny committee, Extinction Rebellion Southwark highlighted areas where they felt the structure of the council’s climate strategy and action plan could be improved, and suggested the following:

·  The inclusion of SMART targets and key indicators for each action to enable effective monitoring/scrutiny of performance against the plan, both by the council and external interested groups.

·  Outlining potential cost against each action and indicating where funding might come from.

·  Aligning the climate action plan with other council policies, such as the New Southwark Plan, Waste Strategy and Movement Plan and having these policies in one place so that they are readily accessible.

Extinction Rebellion Southwark highlighted Hammersmith and Fulham and Newcastle Councils as having good examples of climate strategies.

Extinction Rebellion Southwark suggested that scrutiny councillors undertake training to ensure effective ongoing monitoring of the Climate Action Plan.  This was suggested with hindsight of their own experience as a climate emergency interest group having challenges with trying to understand the details of this complex issue.

Extinction Rebellion Southwark also highlighted the need and importance of councillors increasing knowledge and awareness of the climate emergency and being able to speak to the issue of carbon emissions reduction.  This was highlighted in the context of concern around a siloed approach to the climate emergency and the need to broaden the reach of the issue beyond the existing climate emergency networks/forums.

Following the presentation, questions and discussions were held around the following:

·  Obstacles to Southwark working in the same way as those authorities highlighted as have good strategies and action plans

·  Positives of the Southwark Climate Action Plan

·  Encouraging the council to be more ambitious in tackling the climate emergency

·  Training for Councillors on the climate emergency

·  Engagement with the Southwark society and third sector to make them more aware and involved.

The committee then heard from Councillor Helen Dennis, Cabinet Member for Climate Emergency and Sustainable Development.  Councillor Dennis responded to some of the points made in the presentation.  Councillor Dennis stressed that the council is ambitious and if that had not translated through to the strategy and action plan, that it could be looked at through the review to ensure that the council’s ambitions were brought through accurately and clearly.  Councillor Dennis highlighted the work the council was doing around heat networks would be transformational in terms of reducing carbon emissions.  Councillor Dennis also highlighted a project worth nearly £7m being delivered across three council estates, the huge potential with the SELCHP expansions.  The council would be leading on the delivery of these networks and decarbonisation in that area.

Councillor Dennis explained that what the council wanted to do through the technical analysis which underpins the strategy and action plan which was provided by Anthesis Consultants, was to focus on those actions that could make the most difference in terms of carbon savings.  In terms of the council focusing on reducing its emissions, it had already halved its operational emissions within the last four years – this was an area of real progress and delivery on behalf of the council.

Councillor Dennis highlighted that the council also needed to think about consumption emissions, with was hard to measure.

Councillor Dennis set out what the current thinking was in terms of the review.  There was commitment to an annual conference and to the publishing of an annual progress report.  Next year would be a key year in updating the strategy and action plan due to the citizen jury work which would need to be integrated into the strategy and priority actions, commitments made through the election process that would need to be incorporated into the new borough plan and also integrated into the climate strategy and action plan.

In terms of council spend on climate change/environmental issues, Councillor Dennis highlighted a number of areas where the council had spent or set aside additional expenditure/investment.  An estimated £101m was being spent through capital, this didn’t include money being spent on housing stock, through the housing revenue account.  An additional £25m had been set aside in the capital programme, and in addition to this there was also the carbon offset fund.

Significant investments was being made through the housing revenue account to decarbonise the district heating systems at an estimated cost of £350m. There was also investment in standard energy efficiency and retrofitting, which would also be coming from the housing revenue account. 

Councillor Dennis also explained that there had been a lack of strategic funding for climate emergency from central government.  There was also a lot to digest following COP26.

Councillor Dennis stressed that the work to be undertaken in relation to giving greater clarity about short, medium and long term priorities was a big job for the team to pull this information together from across the council.

Following further discussion, it was moved by Councillor Gavin Edwards that:

The cabinet member for Climate Emergency and Sustainable Development be recommended to:

·  Revise Southwark’s Climate Action Plan to include smart targets throughout, including staged timeline and funding requirements and allocation against each action and policy.

·  Carry out a review to ensure the alignment and integration of all council policies with the Climate Action Plan.

·  Arrange for training for all councillors on monitoring of the delivery of the Climate Action Plan, to be delivered immediately following the 2022 council elections.

·  Return to the overview and scrutiny committee meeting scheduled for 2 March 2022 with a timeline of when the above recommendations will be actioned.

Subsequently, an amendment was moved by Councillor Victor Chamberlain and seconded by Councillor Hamish McCallum that recommendations (bullet point 1 and 2) be completed before the pre-election period.

The amendment was put to the vote and declared to be lost.  In accordance with Committee Procedure Rule 1.9(3) Councillors Victor Chamberlain and Hamish McCallum requested that their votes in favour of the amendment be recorded in the minutes.

The substantive motion was put to the vote and declared to be carried.

RESOLVED:

1.  That the cabinet member for Climate Emergency and Sustainable Development be recommended to:

·  Revise Southwark’s Climate Action Plan to include smart targets throughout, including staged timeline and funding requirements and allocation against each action and policy.

·  Carry out a review to ensure the alignment and integration of all council policies with the Climate Action Plan.

·  Arrange for training for all councillors on monitoring of the delivery of the Climate Action Plan, to be delivered immediately following the 2022 council elections.

·  Return to the overview and scrutiny committee meeting scheduled for 2 March 2022 with a timeline of when the above recommendations will be actioned.