Agenda item

To receive a presentation from Matthew Barker, Carbon Reduction Project Officer, Malvern and Wychavon District Councils, on the work of Malvern Hills District Council towards achieving carbon zero.

a) To note the content of the presentation.

b) To discuss the future role and work of the AONB Partnership with regards to tackling climate change, especially in collaboration with others (reference the Statement of commitment from AONB Chairs on Climate Action: 8 Statement of Commitment_.pdf (moderngov.co.uk)

Matthew Barker, Carbon Reduction Project Officer for Malvern and Wychavon District Councils, gave a presentation about tackling Climate Change.

Carbon Dioxide was at its highest recorded rate , which was accelerating global heating. The Climate Change Act of 2008 introduced a legal duty to reduce carbon emissions by 78% by 2035, and to get to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Action was being taken, but there were policy gaps and currently it was not expected that the next Carbon budget would be met.

Malvern Hills District Council declared a climate emergency in 2019 and were aiming for Destination Zero by January 2030. Other key measures were to grow the low carbon economy, increase renewable energy and increase carbon capture.

At present the sector producing the most carbon within the Malvern Hills area was the waste fleet, followed by Malvern Theatres and Malvern Splash. During Covid, carbon emissions had been reduced due to the closure of venues, but it had still not reached zero.

Work to offset carbon emissions included implementing a biodiversity strategy such as tree planting and meadow creation, as well as working with Partners on projects such as habitat restoration and carbon capture.  Global warming was a local and global issue which was causing heatwaves, droughts, floods, increasing the risk of extinction for some species and effects on people’s wellbeing. Mitigation was about making the impact of climate change less severe by reducing greenhouse gases, while adaptation was taking action to prevent or minimise the damage of climate change.

Matt suggested the AONB Partnership was able to work to introduce resilient practices such as only contributing to projects with climate positive aims and ensuring active travel was possible in the area. The Management Plan could take a role in increasing awareness of the issue and offering guidance.

It was suggested that the key risks and impacts to the AONB should be identified and then actions could be prioritised which had the biggest impact. Who was responsible for delivery and in what timeframes should be specified along with how actions would be monitored.

Committee Members discussed the subject and the following comments were made:

·       It was confirmed that newer parts of the theatre buildings were more climate friendly but it was difficult to upgrade older parts of the building such as the heating system.

·       The amount of carbon produced by the Theatres did not include brick production as that would be attributed to the business producing the bricks. Embodied carbon was not currently being considered in calculations.

·       Five of Malvern’s waste collections lorries had been converted to use Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil, which was coming from waste sources. This was cheaper than buying new electric vehicles. It was agreed that there needed to be improved infrastructure and technology for waste vehicles, with increased range and quicker chargers before electric vehicles could be considered viable. When the waste fleet required new vehicles in 2030 the type of vehicle being used would be reconsidered.

·       It was clarified that the data in the presentation was supplied by Central Government, so it was not possible to drill down into more local data.

·       More needed to be done to help domestic households move towards carbon zero. More electric vehicles could make a difference, but they were expensive; and solar panels could take 7 or 8 years to give a financial return.

·       Although not a traditional area of work for the AONB, it was recognised that the Partnership had a wider reach and including more meaningful measures about tackling climate change in the next Management Plan would be a positive step. It was suggested that climate change could become a regular item on JAC agendas in future. A focus within the AONB may be activities and practices that are climate friendly but which also meet other objectives such as biodiversity and landscape conservation and sustainable food production.

RESOLVED that the Chairman thanked Matthew for his presentation and agreed he should be invited back to a meeting in the future.