There are two Notices of Motion, as follows:
1) Implementing Climate Change and Environmental Action
Plans
The motion is as follows:
“This Council resolves to establish a politically proportionate
Scrutiny Committee to monitor its progress on developing and implementing
climate and environmental action plans across the whole of the Council’s
business. The remit of this committee is to ensure that there is oversight of
the overall achievement of the collective ambition for change. It will remain
the remit of individual scrutiny areas to ensure this work is embedded in the
action planning in each of the Council’s areas of work.”
Proposed by County Councillor Andy Brown
Seconded by County Councillor Stuart Parsons.
2) Nature and Climate Change
The motion is as follows:
The Liberal Democrat
& Liberal Group congratulates the previous
council in creating the foundations of a net
zero carbon plan and welcomes the development of the enhanced net zero
carbon neutral plan for the new authority. The Group also celebrates and supports the recent NYCC cabinet
decision to declare a climate change emergency.
The group reminds
the council that under the leadership of Alok Sharma MP, the UK still holds the
COP Presidency until later this year with a mandate of working with governments
and organisations to make sure they deliver on the Glasgow Climate Pact,
turning momentum into action
The Group asks council
to note and act on the subsequent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC
(2022) report which stated;
- Climate resilient development is enabled when
governments, civil society and the private sector make inclusive
development choices that prioritise risk reduction, equity and justice,
and when decision-making processes, finance and actions are integrated
across governance levels, sectors and timeframes (very high confidence).
Climate resilient development is facilitated by international cooperation
and by governments at all levels working with communities, civil society,
educational bodies, scientific and other institutions, media, investors
and businesses; and by developing partnerships with traditionally marginalised
groups, including women, youth, Indigenous Peoples, local communities and
ethnic minorities (high confidence). These partnerships are most
effective when supported by enabling political leadership, institutions,
resources, including finance, as well as climate services, information and
decision support tools (high confidence).
- Safeguarding
biodiversity and ecosystems is fundamental to climate resilient
development, in light of the threat’s climate change poses to them and
their roles in adaptation and mitigation (very high confidence).
- Any further delay in
concerted anticipatory global action on adaptation and mitigation will
miss a brief and rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable
and sustainable future for all’; This isn’t an opinion; it is a statement
of the evidence with very high confidence
The Group ask the
Council to also note and as a priority act on:
- The recent joint statement
on July 8th 2022 from the government office of science and the Government
Chief Scientific Adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance recognise that ‘addressing
the twin challenges of carbon emissions and biodiversity loss requires
political will and leadership.’
- In Great Britain
alone, of the 8,431 species assessed in the 2019 State of Nature report,
1,188 are threatened with extinction.
The Group also asks Council to
recognise and be proactive in recognising:
- that we are facing an ecological emergency as well as a climate
emergency and that actions to reduce emissions contributing to climate change
must go hand in hand with action to protect and increase nature and
biodiversity
- the challenge to balance economic growth with measures to protect
and enhance nature has never been more urgent.
- That opportunities are available through the planning system for
improving nature by embedding the “environmental net gain” principle into
development, including housing and infrastructure, in order to deliver
environmental improvements
- That the conservation and enhancement of the natural environment
play a pivotal role in our economy and wellbeing, providing wide-ranging
benefits such as clean water and air, food, timber, carbon capture, flood
protection and recreation.
We therefore propose that this
council resolves:
- To ensure the development and delivery of a mandatory Net Zero
Carbon neutral policy for North Yorkshire through the Beyond Carbon plan.
- Enable the development and delivery of a mandatory Biodiversity net
gain policy for North Yorkshire through the creation of new Biodiversity
and Nature action plan
- Ensure both plans are embedded into all council work and are core
principles for all future strategic development.
In order to do so, this
Council will
- Continue and advance the work to put its own house in order to be
an exemplar to all
- Use the councils direct influence through its policies and
procurement
- Make the most of our wider influence through partnerships and
within the wider community
- Increase the areas of rich wildlife habitats, tree cover and
accessible green space in order for nature and people to thrive, and the
economy to prosper.
- Ensure the delivery of carbon reductions, biodiversity net gain and
environmental enhancements through our planning policy and development
control functions.
- Provide more detailed guidance for developers through the creation
of a Climate Change and Biodiversity Gain Supplementary Planning Document
- Create a Developing Nature Toolkit and direct developers to use the
toolkit to assist them in demonstrating a net gain in biodiversity, to be
used from the very outset of planning new developments, and ideally at the
time of selecting sites to acquire for development.
- Identifying areas for tree planting for carbon sequestration, flood
management, air quality improvement and other environmental services.
Furthermore, this council
believes that tackling a climate change and ecological emergency requires
action in all areas of the council operations and influence and the scale of
such a bold policy must be recognised, therefore;
- This council recommends a climate change and biodiversity working
party be created to maximise ALL available resources and expertise to
support officers in the development and creation of this ambitious plan.
- This council recommends that a new cabinet role should also be created
to reflect the scale of the job
- This council resolves to create a new politically proportionate Environmental Scrutiny
Committee to monitor progress on developing and implementing the climate
change and biodiversity action plans to ensure that there is oversight of
the collective ambition of this council.
Proposed by County Councillor Steve Mason
Seconded by County Councillor Bryn Griffiths.