Annual Climate Action Report and Action Plan Update
Perth and Kinross Council · 6 December 2023
Back to Perth and Kinross Council — 6 December 2023 and its agenda
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Perth And Kinross Council 6 December 2023 ANNUAL CLIMATE ACTION REPORT AND ACTION PLAN UPDATE Report by Executive Director (Communities) (Report No. 23/346) 1. PURPOSE 1.1 This report is the second annual Climate Action Report. It provides the Council with an update on Perth and Kinross Council’s (PKC) progress in delivering its Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan. It reviews overall performance and progress and then explores the progress in each of the eight themes identified in the plan. It proposes an annual update to the action plan for 2024/25 and the associated resources required to deliver them. 2. RECOMMENDATIONS 2.1 It is recommended that the Council: • approves the Climate Change Annual Report (Appendix A) along with the associated detailed Action Plan for 2024/25 (Appendix B). • notes that the resources required to take forward the priority actions will be considered as part of the Revenue and Capital budget process. • requests members and officers to continue to raise the resource and delivery challenges associated with addressing the climate and biodiversity emergency with COSLA, the Scottish and UK Governments, and other relevant bodies, whenever appropriate. 3. STRUCTURE OF REPORT 3.1 This report is structured over the following sections: • Section 4: Background • Section 5: Progress since November 2022 • Section 6: Proposal for action in Year 3 • Section 7: Conclusion • Appendices 4. BACKGROUND 4.1 In December 2019, Perth and Kinross Council approved an Interim Climate Emergency Report and Action Plan (Report No 19/362 refers). This highlighted the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concerns in relation to keeping the global average temperature rise below 1.5°C, which has been also reflected at COP26 and at COP27.
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4.2 To keep the global average temperature rise below 1.5°C, dramatic emissions reductions are required by 2030. To ensure Scotland plays its role in meeting this, the Scottish Government has set a 75% emissions reduction target by 2030. 4.3 Perth and Kinross Council has a legal responsibility for emissions reductions and climate resilience, both within the Council’s operations as well as across the entirety of Perth and Kinross. In December 2021, the Council approved its Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (Report No 21/245 refers), which covers the identified necessary actions for the Council to undertake for both areas. This report set the strategic principles for the Council’s approach to addressing the climate emergency and provided detailed action plans for eight key thematic areas. These include Transport, Buildings & Energy, Waste & Circular Economy, Business & Industry, Land Use, Resilience, Education & Engagement and Governance. 4.4 The report acknowledged that, as climate action is a rapidly changing environment, this plan will need to be constantly evolving. It also included a requirement to provide an annual update to the Climate Change Action Plan. 4.5 In November 2022, the Council formally declared a Climate and Biodiversity Emergency (Report No. 22/272 refers). The Council furthered its commitment to tackling the Climate and Biodiversity Emergency by making ‘tackling climate change and supporting sustainable places’ one of its seven Corporate Plan priorities (Report 22/311refers). 4.6 The Council agreed, at its meeting on 6 October 2021, to establish the Perth and Kinross Climate Change Commission (Report No. 21/142 refers). The Commission met for the first time in July 2022 and has been meeting quarterly since then. 4.7 In February 2022 (Report No 22/35), the Council approved an additional £500,000 of recurring revenue budget to address the top priority items identified in the action plan. In March 2023 (Report No 23/72 refers), the Council agreed an additional £45,000 to fund the creation of a Climate Change Land Restoration Officer. 4.8 In addition, the Council has also signed up to a number of initiatives. By becoming signatories to the Covenant of Mayors, the Edinburgh Declaration and the Glasgow Food and Climate Declaration (Report No. 21/209 refers), the Council has enhanced its commitment to taking its responsibilities seriously. Legislation and targets 4.9 The UK Climate Change Act 2008 sets the UK’s approach to climate change and commits the UK Government to reach net zero greenhouse gases emissions by 2050. The Act also requires the UK government to produce a UK Climate Change Risk Assessment every five years in order to assess current and future risks and opportunities for the UK from climate change.
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4.10 Scotland has set more ambitious legislation in the Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Act 2019 which makes provisions about advice, plans and reports in relation to targets for the reduction of greenhouse gases emissions. This includes reaching net zero by 2045 and has set interim targets to reduce net emissions by at least 56% by 2020, 75% by 2030, and 90% by 2040 compared to the baseline year (1990) respectively. 4.11 Supporting the new targets set by the Act, the Scottish Government published its Climate Change Plan Update in 2020. “Securing a green recovery on a path to net zero: climate change plan 2018 – 2032 update” sets out the pathway for a green and just transition to net zero in achieving Scotland’s climate change targets. 4.12 In addition to setting new emissions reduction targets, the Act also placed a duty on Scottish Ministers to act on climate change adaptation and prepare a programme of action. The second Scottish Climate Change Adaptation Programme (SCCAP2) was launched in 2019 and addresses the risks set out in the UK Climate Change Risk Assessment 2017 to help Scotland prepare for the impact of climate change. 4.13 The Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Act 2019 has also given local authorities the duty to ensure their local authority areas decarbonise in line with the Scottish Government Target; are resilient to the impacts of climate change; and promote sustainable development. Compliance with this means climate change should be considered at the heart of every council decision, as well developing new streams of activity. 4.14 There are several pieces of corresponding legislation that put additional climate related duties onto Local Authorities. These include the Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy (Scotland) Order (2022) and the Heat Networks Scotland Act (2021). 5. PROGESS TO DATE 5.1 This report covers the progress made between October 2022 and September 2023. The Perth and Kinross Climate Change Update - 2023 (Appendix A) provides a full summary of progress, performance and next steps. The key points are summarised below. Key Achievements 5.2 There has been progress to note across the six Strategic Priorities identified in the Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan attributed to all of the eight delivery plan themes. Highlights of this progress includes:
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1. Achieving Net Zero aligned with the Paris Agreement and the Scottish Government Targets, with the ambition of achieving them sooner. • Achieving a 14% year-on-year emissions reductions for the Council’s non-domestic estate. (Buildings & Energy) • Developing key decarbonisation strategies including our first Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy (CCS Report 23/330) and EV Charging Strategy (CCS Report 23/165). (Buildings & Energy) • Opening Riverside Primary School – Perth and Kinross’s first Passivhaus Primary School, which will save an estimated 71 tCO2e per annum (Buildings & Energy) • Delivering the £2.7M Recycling Improvement Fund to include city centre food recycling to 1000 properties and preparing for the introduction of a twin-stream recycling service across Perth and Kinross (Waste and Circular Economy) 2. Building a more resilient Perth and Kinross • Undertaking a comprehensive Climate Change Risk and Opportunity Assessment that assesses risks and opportunities to both Perth & Kinross and PKC operations. (Resilience) • Approval of 2 Flood Risk Management projects by the Council in December 2022. (Resilience) • Working with community groups and volunteers on our award-nominated Ponds for Puddocks project (Resilience) 3. Delivering a fair transition and a green recovery • Expanding provision of home energy advice services with our partners (the HEAT Project and SCARF) to over 880 households this year and supporting numerous others to access funding sources. (Buildings & Energy) • Green Business Grants - 24 businesses have been paid a total of £439,847.61 from the Capital Green Recovery Grant scheme (Business & Industry) • Running the Keep Cosy this Winter campaign in Winter 2022/23, focused on promoting energy savings tips and resources. 4. Preventing an ecological emergency and enhancing biodiversity • Working with the Scottish Invasive Species Initiatives and over 30 community volunteers to develop and deliver a comprehensive Invasive and Non-Native Species Initiative for the River Almond Catchment (Land Use) • Supporting Blairgowrie and Rattray to become Scotland’s first Biodiversity Town. (Land Use) • Declaring of a climate and biodiversity emergency in November 2022. (Governance) • Rolling out of trials for managed grassed areas to enhance biodiversity (Land Use).
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5. Engaging and empowering our children and young people • Hosting a successful second annual Youth Climate Conference in October 2023 (Education & Engagement) • Working with 12 PKC schools on reducing their energy consumption using an engaging platform - Energy Sparks (Education & Engagement) • Developing a Climate Action Plan template and guidance for schools to develop their own action plans for students, teachers and staff (Education & Engagement) 6. Empowering our communities • Successfully completion of the Innovate UK funded Dialogue to Accelerate the Net Zero Transition Project in Tulloch, Aberfeldy and Blairgowrie & Rattray (Education & Engagement) • Continuing our communications and social media approach with over 90,000 views across our PKClimateAction Webpage and Social Media sites (Education & Engagement) • Targeting engagement with 165 businesses identified as having heat and power demand above 0.5Mwh and/or as large employers. (Business & Industry) • Continuing Council officer engagement in working groups, along with specific community activities such as Biodiversity Ambassadors. Delivery 5.3 As of 13 October 2023, 83% of actions showed good or some progress – this is made up of: 4% of actions were marked as complete; 36% of actions were classified as Green (on-track),42% as Amber (some progress, but not progressing as quickly as envisioned) and 16% as Red (no progress). When looking at the ‘Top’ actions prioritised by elected members in 2022/23, all of the actions have progressed this year and two of these have been deemed by Officers to have made sufficient progress to move from Red to Amber. Appendix A summarises progress by theme and Appendix B provides an action level update on progress.
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Challenges and barriers 5.4 Resources and capacity – The additional resources available for 2022/23 and 2023/24 have increased capacity. However, several teams are still experiencing challenges in recruiting and retaining internal staff with the required skills, knowledge and experience. Most of the action continues to have been delivered by officers, who balance business as usual statutory duties with climate change actions, which is limiting the speed and ability to progress. Additional resources have been identified as required to progress the identified top priority actions this year. 5.5 As identified in the Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan Report in December 2021, by 2030, across Scotland there needs to be £5-6 billion investment annually, up more than 10 times current levels. It remains too early to provide a realistic estimate of the share of this estimated cost across Perth and Kinross. It will, however, have significant implications for the use of the Council’s overall budgets, and in particular of key capital and revenue programmes around waste & recycling, transport, fleet, flood risk management, property and housing. The current high levels of inflation are also compounding the pressure on capital projects needed to deliver our climate ambitions. The completion of the Domestic and Non-Domestic Estate Decarbonisation Strategy and the Perth and Kinross Mobility Strategy, both due for completion in Spring 2024, will provide the necessary clarity on these key streams of work. This will enable the Council to consider how to include them in its long- term financial planning. 5.6 Embedding climate change into decision making and across all Council decisions and operations - Since its formation, the Climate Change and Sustainability Committee by the Council has been a positive step towards helping to embed climate change into the Council’s governance. The rollout of
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climate literacy training to members and officers has led to more climate- informed decisions and the refreshed Impact and Value Assessment Tool will screen all Council plans and proposals for climate impacts. The attendance at training and use of the IVA has been variable by service area, leading to a range of impacts being identified. The new Leadership structure with a nominated Strategic Lead for Climate Change should also help to strengthen the current governance arrangements. 5.7 Influencing others to take action - While we have a responsibility for overall climate emissions reductions across Perth and Kinross, the public sector is only directly responsible for less than 3% of emissions. We have means of having wider influence, through policies, planning and infrastructure provision that will get us part of the way there. In some areas, it will require us to work differently (e.g. focus on public behavioural change) or with different partners and trying to have a wider influence than we traditionally have – e.g. working with the agriculture and land use sectors. However, there are limits to what the Council can do. Performance 5.8 Seven high-level key performance indicators (KPIs) have been established to give an overview of the Council’s progress towards net zero. It should be noted that, due to the lag of the data sources being published, the values reported range from 2021 (pre-implementation of our plan) to 2022/23. As a result, the first 3 shown in Table 1 do not reflect changes due to the implementation of the Climate Action Plan. Please see Appendix A for more details and analysis of the performance data and theme specific performance data. 5.9 A summary of the key performance data is shown in Table 1. For indicators No 1, 2, and 3, the values for 2021 were published by the UK Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) in June 2023. As transport is the highest source of emissions in Perth and Kinross, the Covid-related travel restrictions resulted in an artificial fall in emissions in 2020 and the 2021 data shows a rebound as expected. Positively, however, emissions in 2021 were still lower than pre-Covid 2019 (5% lower for Greenhouse gas Emissions and 9% for CO2 emissions only). Even with this decrease of the area-based CO2 emissions, it was not sufficient to match are the estimated trajectory needed to reach the Scottish Government target of 75% reduction by 2030 and there are still approximately 20% higher than required to be on a smooth Paris- aligned trajectory. 5.10 PKC’s own emissions are shown in KPI 4 as increasing by 10.5% for 2022/23 in relation to 2021/22. However, this is attributed to the addition of an additional Scope 3 emissions category (Staff Commuting 5,369 ktCO2e) which was requested for inclusion by the Climate Change & Sustainability Committee Members in November 2022. This was to allow appropriate comparison with the introduction of reporting on home working emissions. Without the addition of this additional category, there would have been a 4.5% year-on-year decrease predominantly attributed to a 14% emission decrease from PKC’s property portfolio.
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5.11 Positive performance was demonstrated for KPIs 5 and 7. The Carbon Disclosure Project City score is an independently audited assessment of our progress in tackling climate change. Our 2022 score has put us above the regional average. The grant funding received has significantly increased. There is the potential for further improvements. Table 1 2022/23 KPI Data KPI Target Current value % change over previous year Comment on performance 1. Perth and Kinross Area- wide territorial greenhouse gas emissions (kt CO2e) 75% reduction on 1990 levels by 2030 and zero net emissions by 2045. 1306.1 (2021) +7.6% Increase in comparison to artificially low emissions in 2020 (1213.6) – decrease with respect to 2019 2. Perth and Kinross Area- wide territorial greenhouse gas per Capita emissions (t CO2e) 75% reduction on 1990 levels by 2030 and zero net emissions by 2045. 8.5 (2021) +6.2% As above 2020 (8) 3. Perth and Kinross Area- wide CO2 emissions (kt CO2e) 376kt CO2e by 2030 (75% reduction on 1990 levels) 731 (2021) +13.7% As above 2020 (643) 4. Perth and Kinross Council Scope 1,2, and 3 emissions (t CO2e) Net zero by 2045 39,798 (2022/23) +10.5% Increase due to inclusion of additional Scope 3 category in reporting. There was a 4.5% decrease when comparing like-for-like emissions. 2021/22 (36,008) 5. Carbon Disclosure Project (City Score) ‘A’ by 2024 B (2022) Better Improvement from C in 2021 6. Percentage of Climate Change Indicators showing positive change* 100% 46% (2023) N/A Without including the KPIs related to the 2021 BEIS data this increase to 55% 7. Climate Change Grant Funding secured (£k) No target set £1,768,102 (2022/23) +174% Note: excludes the Flooding grants from the Scottish Government and large capital building grants. 2021/22 (646K) Perth and Kinross Climate Change Commission 5.12 The Perth and Kinross Climate Change Commission was formed in October 2021 following selection by application and selection of an Independent Panel. The Commission was selected to have 21 Members, 6 of whom are young people in the age range of 14-24. The Convener and Vice-convener of the Climate Change and Sustainability Committee, along with the Executive Director (Communities) represent the Council on the Commission. Since its creation, some commissioners have resigned for different reasons reducing the number of members. To address the situation, the Commission has carried out a review of its membership and activities. At a recent meeting, the Commission agreed to launch a new recruitment campaign to be as open,
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transparent and inclusive as possible as well as focusing on young people. The Commission also agreed to strengthen its identity via stronger online presence and its programme of activities by targeting key areas of interests and connections with local community and interest groups. 6. PROPOSED YEAR 3 ACTION 6.1 Appendix A contains an overview by theme of the priorities for climate action for Year 3 and highlights any significant additions or changes to actions from what has been previously approved. The detailed action plans with the current action status are contained in Appendix B. Across all themes, there are only minor adjustments to the Action Plan to reflect lessons learnt and progress made so far. 6.2 Several key plans and thematic strategies have been completed or will be completed early into Year 3 – including the Mobility Strategy, Domestic and Non-domestic estate decarbonisation strategy, and the Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy (LHEES), EV Expansion Strategy and Flood Risk Management Cycle 2. This will require a shift in operational approach from planning to delivery – trying to realise the quick wins, while also developing the strategic projects and exploring external funding options. The bid for the creation of new National Park could also be an opportunity to attract public and private funding towards nature investments to support climate change and biodiversity. Other key projects include the delivery of further Passivhaus projects including Perth High School and Blairgowrie Recreation; continued delivery of Flood Risk Management and Bridge Scour assessment and management programmes; delivery of Nature Restoration Fund projects; and development of Perth Eco-Innovation Park. Resources 6.3 While the Council is in a challenging financial situation, in both the 2022/23 and 2023/24 budgets, the Council demonstrated its commitment to climate action by ensuring that all Top priority actions had the resources required. Reviewing the on-going resource requirements to deliver the Top priority project in Year 3, additional resources would be needed, focusing on surface water management and meeting our duties under the Heat Networks Act. 6.4 The resources to meet the identified needs have been estimated at £200k of recurring revenue funding and £4.81M of capital investment over the next three years for the Council’s Estate Decarbonisation Programme. These figures only reflect the immediate resources needed to meet specific identified actions, but not the full extent of investment required particularly to deliver decarbonisation of domestic and non-domestic estate and of transport. At this time, the full extent of the expenditure required is not yet known, however, it is likely to run into several hundreds of millions of pounds. 6.5 While the future challenges are significant, the Council is already investing significant resources in its revenue and capital budgets to adapt its estate to meet the demands of the climate change agenda. However, compared to the
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scale of investment required from the statutory intermediate targets, in or around 2030, there requires to be consideration by Council on the level of commitment and steps it is required to make to change our pace of action. 6.6 Funding the route map to net zero is perhaps the most significant of the challenges. Until there is greater clarity about the financial assistance available from Governments and other sources, it will remain so. The response to the behavioural and cultural change required by residents and businesses is also a significant unknown but is key to the success of addressing and mitigating the impact of climate change. We therefore stress the urgent need for individuals, communities and businesses to take action and be part of the delivery. 6.7 Officers will pursue all available funding sources with current capacity. The Council will, however, continue to work with other Local Authorities and COSLA to highlight these areas to the Scottish Government and seek solutions. Elected members are also requested to use all opportunities to raise the resource and delivery challenges associated with addressing the climate and biodiversity emergency with COSLA, the Scottish and UK Governments, and other relevant bodies. 7. CONCLUSION 7.1 The Council has made good progress in the second year of delivery of the Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan – helping to lay a foundation for the work in future years. However, to meet our statutory targets and organisational commitments and play an appropriate role in addressing the climate emergency, we need to increase our pace and scale of action next year and years going forward. This will require us to lead by example and continue to change in the way we operate and make decisions across the Council. 7.2 As have been seen by events throughout 2023, from the record heats, the October floods, intense winter storms and spread of forest fires – climate change can no longer be thought of as a future risk but is a real and pressing current emergency. While there are other on-going crises, including the current cost of living crises, many of the actions proposed to address climate change will also help our businesses and residents manage those – e.g. improving energy efficiency cuts both bills and emissions, as can household renewables, improving public transport and active transport is the most equitable and cost effective means, and helping our businesses prepare for the green economy can help create attractive, well-paying jobs.
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Authors Name Designation Contact Details Divindy Grant Serge Merone Scott Nicoll Team Leader, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Climate Change & Smart Investment Manager Property Services Manger (01738) 475000 ComCommitteeReports@pkc.gov.uk Approved Name Designation Date Barbara Renton Executive Director (Communities) 24 November 2023 APPENDICES ▪ Appendix A: Annual Climate Change Progress Report ▪ Appendix B: Updated Climate Change Action Plan ▪ Appendix C: Proposed KPI changes
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ANNEX 1. IMPLICATIONS, ASSESSMENTS, CONSULTATION AND COMMUNICATION Strategic Implications Yes / None Community Plan / Single Outcome Agreement Yes Corporate Plan Yes Resource Implications Financial No Workforce No Asset Management (land, property, IST) No Assessments Equality Impact Assessment Yes Strategic Environmental Assessment Yes Sustainability (community, economic, environmental) Yes Legal and Governance Yes Risk Yes Consultation Internal Yes External Yes Communication Communications Plan Yes 1. Strategic Implications Community Plan/Single Outcome Agreement/Corporate Plan 1.1 Climate change clearly links to the Objective: ‘Creating a safe and sustainable place for future generations.’ It is also beneficial interlinked in multiple ways to all of the other priorities of the Community Plan and Corporate Plan. 1.2 Examples of the benefits are included below: (i) Giving every child the best start in life – Addressing fuel poverty (ii) Developing educated, responsible and informed citizens – Engagement and climate literacy (iii) Promoting a prosperous, inclusive and sustainable economy – Supporting the Development of green skills and jobs (iv) Supporting people to lead independent, healthy and active lives – Increased levels of active transport and improved air quality (v) Creating a safe and sustainable place for future generations – The overarching ambition of the Climate Action Strategy
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2. Resource Implications Financial 2.1 This report has no direct resource implications, but the Head of Finance has been consulted on the resource requirements for the delivery of this Strategy which would to be considered as part of the 2024/25 budget setting process. Workforce 2.2 This report does not directly have workforce implications. Asset Management (land, property, IT) 2.3 This report does not directly have asset management implications. 3. Assessments Equality Impact Assessment 3.1 Under the Equality Act 2010, the Council is required to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations between equality groups. Carrying out Equality Impact Assessments for plans and policies allows the Council to demonstrate that it is meeting these duties. 3.2 This section should reflect that the proposals have been considered under the Corporate Equalities Impact Assessment process (EqIA) with the following outcome: (i) Assessed as relevant for the purposes of the EqIA (with both positive and negative likely effects): a. Equalities impacts were identified using the Integrated Appraisal Toolkit as part of the initial approved interim Climate Change Plan in 2019. The proposed Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan 2021 builds on the interim strategy, with relevant general impacts as highlighted in b). All actions proposed in the new action plan were considered for their equalities impacts during the plan development phase. Once the action plan has been approved, actions will be periodically assessed as they progress, and if necessary, a full EqIA will be undertaken, and appropriate mitigation taken as described in c). b. The report recognises that the most severe impacts of climate change are likely to be felt by people experiencing greater risks of poverty and disadvantage. It also recognises that by promoting future mitigation measures in the move towards zero carbon, certain groups may be disproportionately impacted. c. The strategy and action plan seek to create a net zero economy that is fair for all, minimises potential for inequalities, and maximises the socio-economic opportunities for all. As part of the action plan, a decision-making toolkit will be
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established to consider future climate change mitigation and adaptation actions, to ensure just transitions are prioritised. Strategic Environmental Assessment 3.3 The Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 places a duty on the Council to identify and assess the environmental consequences of its proposals. 3.4 This section should reflect that the proposals have been considered under the Act and pre-screening has identified that the PPS will have no or minimal environmental effects, it is therefore exempt, and the SEA Gateway has been notified. The reason(s) for concluding that the PPS will have no or minimal environmental effects is that the Strategy is unlikely to trigger the Act as will not lead to future development by itself but rather other sector and subject plans, programmes and strategies will provide the detail which if appropriate will be assessed at the time. Sustainability 3.5 The proposal has been considered under the provisions of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2019 and it has been assessed that: 3.6 A large number of positive climate change and sustainable development outcomes are likely as a result of this proposal being implemented, across all eleven sections of the Integrated Appraisal Toolkit. The screening undertaken for the Interim Climate Emergency Report was reviewed and determined to be still applicable. 3.7 All actions proposed are likely to contribute to the provisions of the Act and will be reported as part of the annual Public Sector Bodies Climate Change Duties Reporting process. Legal and Governance 3.8 The Head of Legal and Governance has been consulted in the preparation of this report. Risk 3.9 Climate Change is recognised as the joint-top corporate risk to the Council. The proposals focus on addressing and reducing the risks that Climate Change poses. 4. Consultation Internal 4.1 The Council’s Climate Change Board and Climate Change Working Groups were consulted on the report and appendices.
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External 4.2 The Perth and Kinross Climate Change Commission was consulted on the annual report and a summary of their comments is provided below: - Need to stress more prominently and clearly the need to move from strategy and action plans to actual delivery. - Progress is noted, but there are little real quantification or narrative on whether overall Perth and Kinross area is on track or not. Carbon emissions are higher than what is required to be on trajectory for the 2030 target and this should be highlighted more to ensure citizens, businesses and communities understand why action and behaviour changes are needed. There should be more emphasis on the urgent need for individuals, communities and businesses to take action and be part of the delivery. - Highlights’ impacts should be more quantified and follow-up results or actions. - Reference to communication on behaviour change in all of themes should be more prominent. - There is a need for more narrative to demonstrate how the individual themes are interconnected to avoid silos. Where possible, these comments and other suggestions have been reflected in amendments to the annual report. 5. Communication 5.1 Communication is addressed by the actions under the Education and Engagement theme action plan. 2. BACKGROUND PAPERS 2.1 This section should list the documents that have been relied on in preparing the report, other than those committee reports already referenced within the main body of the report. All documents must be kept available by the author for inspection by the public for four years from the date of the meeting at which the report is presented.