Agenda item

            The Committee was reminded that, in March 2019, it had approved the Council’s membership of the ESRI-funded Place Based Climate Action Network.  That decision had enabled the Council to work in partnership with Queen’s University, and alongside a range of other cities, to develop strategies and approaches to climate adaptation and mitigation.  It was a unique project, and Belfast had been chosen to be one of three cities, alongside Edinburgh and Leeds, to establish a Climate Commission.  It was reported that the Council was working to tackle climate breakdown and create a prosperous, inclusive and sustainable economy, with well-paid employment, innovation and creativity at its core and a thriving social economy and healthy communities.  While some progress had been made towards achieving city-wide carbon reduction targets, many carbon reduction and climate resilience opportunities remained unrealised at a citywide level.

            In the face of a challenging national policy context, the limitations on what the Council could achieve on its own, the declarations of a ‘Climate and Ecological Emergency’ by the UK and Irish parliaments, the value in bringing together key city partners to form a Commission to mirror the UK Committee on Climate Change, was recognised and the Belfast Climate Commission had been launched formally on 10th January, 2020.

            The Commission was based on the geographic area of Belfast City Council but also, where appropriate in its work, included the 5 adjacent local authority areas of the Belfast Region City Deal (Ards and North Down, Lisburn and Castlereagh, Mid and East Antrim, Newry Mourne and Down, and Antrim and Newtownabbey).

            The Commission aimed to foster collaboration by bringing together public, private and civic sectors to promote, guide, monitor and review on-going climate and energy transitions. The Commission would also act as a forum for organisations and individuals to exchange ideas, research findings, information and best practice to help Belfast make positive choices on carbon reduction, energy transition and climate resilience.

            The Commission would bring together different groups to develop a climate risk assessment and transition plan for the city/city region and for vulnerable communities and businesses within it.  It would strengthen networks, build capacities, transfer good practice and explore ways of raising the investment needed while monitoring the progress of the city towards meeting its carbon reduction targets and recommend options to keep the city on track.

            The Belfast Climate Commission had formally been established in November, 2019 and its first phase runs until December, 2020.  Progress would then be reviewed and the second phase will run from January, 2021 to December, 2021.  The key deliverables set for the Commission include:

·        The collation of existing carbon reduction targets and measures for organisations across the city using an agreed methodology.

·        Agreed strategic and shared priorities and opportunities for carbon reduction, low carbon energy transition and climate resilience across the city.

·        To support Belfast, and Belfast Region City Deal, based organisations’ understanding of the importance of energy and low carbon initiatives to their business. The aim was to facilitate the start of a pipeline of investable low carbon projects which would be supported by work to address perceived barriers to the availability of cost effective finance.

·        Collaborations with other organisations to identify effective carbon reduction, low carbon energy transition and climate resilience measures, research and develop projects, and attract funding for project development and/or delivery.

·        An annual report monitoring project delivery and evaluating progress across the city towards the city’s climate reduction target and advising on future measures and updating date on emissions.

            The Committee noted the information which had been provided.