Issue - meetings

To consider the head of policy and programmes’ report. 

Cabinet received the Operational Net Zero Target Report from the Head of Policy and Programmes. The report sought to recognise the significant process made in reducing the council’s operational carbon emissions and for Cabinet to adopt a revised operational net zero target of 2023.

Councillor David Rouane introduced the report and reminded members that the council had endorsed the challenging target of becoming a carbon neutral council by 2025. Over the past 15 years, South Oxfordshire District Council had reduced its carbon emissions by over 47 percent. It was noted that the council had two major areas that generated carbon emissions:

1.    Leisure facilities: Grants from the public buildings decarbonisation fund had been utilised for ongoing projects at Didcot Wave, Thame and Wheatley. Efforts had been undertaken to decarbonise heating systems using solar panels, heat pumps and improved insulation. Future projects included the Cornerstone, Henley and Berinsfield.

2.    Waste collection services: The council operated 98 diesel-fuelled waste vehicles. Challenges were encountered when looking to transition to electric vehicles due to technological and geographical limitations. The council had previously experimented with electric vehicles and had purchased its first electric vehicles for food collection. However, the current technology did not support the full transition of the fleet.

Members considered the council’s progress towards net zero and emphasised the importance of setting ambitious yet realistic targets. It was noted that the council’s circumstances had changes since the Climate Emergency Advisory Committee had recommended the net zero target, as a dedicated climate team had been established and the district had seen an expansion of new housing developments.

Cabinet was satisfied with the report and commended the Leisure Team for securing the competitive decarbonisation grants.

RESOLVED:

a)    That Cabinet recognises the significant progress made in reducing the council’s operational carbon emissions. These have reduced by 19 per cent since the council’s Climate Action Plan baseline year of 2019/20 and by 52 per cent since Greenhouse Gas reporting commenced in 2009/10.

b)    That Cabinet adopts a revised operational net zero target of 2030