The original motion:
(i) Climate Emergency
Councillor Devine has submitted the following motion:
Council hereby declares a climate emergency and recognises the impact this will have on our
quality of life now and for future generations. We recognise the need to place climate change
at the heart of everything we do. We fully commit to taking effective action to limit the impact
on our Council area, our people and our quality of life. We therefore ask that the already
established Climate Change Member Officer Group (MOG) meets within a month to consider
actions to be taken in the short and medium term (at present the date for its next meeting is
10 October) and oversee implementation of the following 9-point plan.
1. We recognise the challenges ahead to tackle climate change, and whilst we have
already made significant strides towards achievement of a regional net zero carbon
status, we will seek to achieve this outcome by the year 2045, aligned to the Angus
SECAP, and subject to continuous review;
2. We recognise our critical strategic leadership role to tackle climate change and will
strengthen the theme of climate change within community planning/council priorities
from which our strategic objectives and outcomes will flow;
3. We will ensure that all future and ongoing policy and practice development across our
council directorates and departments identify ways in which we can move further and
faster on carbon reduction measures;
4. We recognise the existing impact of the changing climate on the lives of local
populations and will work with them to adapt to the impacts of climate change;
individuals, communities and businesses need a greater understanding of climate
change and its impacts. We will therefore encourage more Resilience Groups to be
established in towns as well as in rural areas.
5. We recognise the importance of biodiversity, land use and our natural environment in
our drive to reduce the impact of climate change. We will encourage and support
practices, such as carbon capture, to enhance and sustain the farmed and natural
world, as contained within the Tayside Local Biodiversity Action Plan 2016-2026.
6. We will embrace innovative measures and respond as a priority to technological
advances which can reduce our Council area’s impact on climate change. This will
enable opportunities to contribute to the economic development and diversity of our
area by supporting businesses, communities and partnerships, such as the Tay Cities
Deal, which can benefit from schemes and projects which support our priority to tackle
climate change;
7. We recognise that our pursuit of net zero carbon emissions is a challenge which all
people who live and work in our area will share. Accordingly we will work with others
to establish a Climate Action Network in Angus, bringing together representative from
across Tayside, including universities and colleges, harnessing the skills, experience
and innovation our people possess to inform and influence the action we will take as a
council, and sharing best practice. In doing so, we may be able to increase resource
which at present is limited.
8. We will produce a Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan which will incorporate
our obligations under the Climate Change (Emission Reduction Targets)(Scotland)
Bill* when enacted, encapsulate everything that we can do to reduce or eliminate
carbon emission and will incorporate action on loss of biodiversity and our natural
environment;
9. We will work with colleagues in Dundee City and the Tayside Pension Board to
influence decision- takers to orientate our pension funds towards renewable energies
and emerging technologies.
This motion builds on the good work that Angus Council has already undertaken. Early
indication through the council’s statutory climate duties report shows that the Council has
achieved 37 % reduction in carbon emissions against the baseline figures of 2010/11.
