Falkirk Council ‘running out of time' to combat climate emergency, report warns

A report to Falkirk Council’s executive told councillors that “unless drastic change such as reducing the building stock and investing heavily in energy efficiency with the remaining buildings is implemented, we will fall significantly short of our required targets”.

And it outlines the urgency of the situation, pointing out the shoreline on the Firth of Forth estuary would disappear if sea levels rose by up to 90 cm in 2100, as forecast if emissions are not curbed.

The council declared a Climate Emergency in 2019 but the report showed that not enough progress has been made as councillors were urged to get behind a new action plan.

Environment spokesperson, Councillor Paul Garner, said: “We are running out of time.

“Two years have passed since we declared a climate emergency and we have made very little progress in the hard-hitting areas.

“All services across the council must start to show how they will prioritise these reductions and work to outline projects which are innovative, ambitious and at pace.”

Director of Place, Malcolm Bennie, spoke on the steps being taken to introduce carbon budgeting to the council, which has set itself a target of being net zero by 2030.

And he outlined the activities that are needed to reach that hugely ambitious target, such as replacing the council’s fleet with vehicles that use more sustainable fuel, including electric and hydrogen.

A long-running strategic property review also includes where buildings – including all of the district’s schools – could be made more energy efficient.

Mr Bennie told councillors it was important to recognise that the plan was “uncosted” and each element would need brought forward for financial approval.

However, Conservative councillor Lynn Munro said members were being asked to agree to a climate emergency action plan for which there is no funding.

“What is the point of a brilliant plan if its not being properly funded?” she asked.

“As it stands, this is not a climate emergency plan – it is a very incomplete wish list.

“Crucially, where is the funding from Scottish Government?”

Labour group leader Robert Bissett said he felt the report did not deal adequately with energy management and urged the council to establish a full review of energy consumption.

“It seems to me there has been a lot of energy monitoring going on, but not a lot of energy management,” he said, before putting an amendment asking for more work to be done in this area.

The report also concluded that there would still need to be a focus on sequestration, to get to the Net Zero target.

Councillors agreed to back plans to join forces with Stirling and Clackmannanshire councils to establish Forth Valley Forest, that would eventually lead to the Stirling side of Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park.

In a bid to drastically increase the number of trees planted locally, the council will contribute £30,000 over the next two years.

It hopes the measure will boost its green credentials – according to a ‘scorecard’ used by Climate Emergency UK to compare council action plans, Falkirk Council scored just 14 per cent, compared with Fife at 70 per cent and Stirling at 64 per cent.

Thank you for reading this article on our free-to-read website. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

Please consider purchasing a subscription to our print newspaper to help fund our trusted, fact-checked journalism.

https://www.localsubsplus.co.uk/nord/dm/FKH/V