Initial Climate Change Impact Assessment (Form created August 2021)

The intention of this document is to help the council to gain an initial understanding of the impact of a project or decision on the environment. This document should be completed in consultation with the supporting guidance. Dependent on this initial assessment you may need to go on to complete a full Climate Change Impact Assessment. The final document will be published as part of the decision-making process.

If you have any additional queries, which are not covered by the guidance please email climatechange@northyorks.gov.uk

Title of proposal	Use of Glyphosate in Operational Services
Brief description of proposal	The report has been produced for the Scrutiny of Health Committee in response to discussion at the meeting of Full Council in February 2024 when the budget was being set. Members had raised concerns about the impact on public health from the use of the chemical ‘glyphosate’ in treating weeds by North Yorkshire Council. The report sets out usage of the chemical, together with an overview of the public health implications.
Directorate	Environment
Service area	Parks and Grounds
Lead officer	Jon Clubb, Head of Parks and Grounds
Names and roles of other people involved in carrying out the impact assessment	Via working group and other consultees: · Area Manager – Highways · Public Health Consultant · Climate Change Business Partner

The chart below contains the main environmental factors to consider in your initial assessment – choose the appropriate option from the drop-down list for each one.

Remember to think about the following;

· Travel

· Construction

· Data storage

· Use of buildings

· Change of land use

· Opportunities for recycling and reuse

Environmental factor to consider	For the council	For the county	Overall
Greenhouse gas emissions	No effect on emissions	No Effect on emissions	No effect on emissions
Waste	No effect on waste	No effect on waste	No effect on waste
Water use	No effect on water usage	No effect on water usage	No effect on water usage
Pollution (air, land, water, noise, light)	No effect on pollution	No effect on pollution	No effect on pollution
Resilience to adverse weather/climate events (flooding, drought etc)	No effect on resilience	No effect on resilience	No effect on resilience
Ecological effects (biodiversity, loss of habitat etc)	Negative impact on ecology	No effect on ecology	No effect on ecology
Heritage and landscape	No effect on heritage and landscape	No effect on heritage and landscape	No effect on heritage and landscape

If any of these factors are likely to result in a negative or positive environmental impact then a full climate change impact assessment will be required. It is important that we capture information about both positive and negative impacts to aid the council in calculating its carbon footprint and environmental impact.

Decision (Please tick one option)	Full CCIA not relevant or proportionate:	X	Continue to full CCIA:
Reason for decision	Through producing the report, the Council will have a single view of glyphosate usage, and an increased awareness of the health and legislative context – to enable productive engagement with elected Members on how to safely and effectively maintain highway assets and the quality of the environment. Whilst this screening form identifies potentially a negative impact of treating vegetation with a herbicide through habitat and biodiversity loss – usage at current (and decreasing levels) does not represent a deterioration overall and future impacts from any changes are unknown at this stage. However, the Council’s Climate Change Strategy seeks to protect nature through sustainable land use and green space management. Adopting a hierarchical approach to managing weeds with chemical control the least preferred option would be desirable where operationally and economically feasible with a further assessment(s) prepared as operational processes evolve.
Signed (Assistant Director or equivalent)	Barrie Mason
Date	09/12/2024