Agenda item

The Committee considered the following report:

“1.0     Purpose of Report or Summary of Main Issues

1.1            The purpose of this report is to seek approval from Members on the proposed areas of focus for discussion at future meetings of the Climate and City Resilience Committee.

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       The Committee is asked to approve the suggested topics and agree those which should form the agenda for the forthcoming meetings of the Climate and City Resilience Committee. Members may wish to suggest additional items for consideration.

3.0       Main report

3.1       It is proposed that the Committee undertake Climate Emergency Training which will be delivered by Climate NI, working with officers in the Climate Unit. Options for training include:

a)          Delivery by dedicating a future meeting of the Committee (7th April for example) to a three-hour training session which would be followed by individual work to complete the full seven-hour training and receive accreditation. This approach would support Belfast City Council being accredited as a Climate Literate Organisation and would show leadership as we seek to embed climate training throughout the organisation.

b)          Delivery at two future Committee meetings so that all content is delivered in by Climate NI within the Committee meeting structure.

c)          Delivery through a session held outside of the existing meeting schedule, however, we are mindful of Members time and the challenge of finding time for such as session. 

3.2       It is proposed that the subsequent meetings of the committee would focus on the following key areas:

·        An update on the Electric Vehicles Initiative (EVI) which would be set in the context of the DFE coordinated NI Energy Strategy, ongoing work on this topic by DFI, and the work undertaken to date in Belfast through the VPACH project;

·        The One Million Trees Programme;

·        The Council’s baseline emissions and results of the energy review;

·        Climate Fund – update on pilot projects;

·        Bolder Vision;

·        Belfast Stories;

·        Housing retrofit and decarbonising heat in buildings;

·        Challenges and opportunities for collaboration through the Shared Island Unit and Shared Prosperity Fund;

·        The Dublin Belfast Economic Corridor initiative;

·        Cyber Security arrangements in Belfast City Council and wider considerations;

·        Port Health and Port checks legal position

4.0       Financial and Resource Implications

4.1       No financial or resource implications are anticipated at present.

5.0       Equality or Good Relations Implications/

Rural Needs Implications

5.1       Any good relations or equality implications will be identified as part of the Council’s screening process.”

            In response to a number of questions, the Strategic Director confirmed that there were a number of items which fell within the remit of other Committees.  However, where there were specific areas of work relating to climate, reports would be submitted to this Committee for consideration.

            After discussion, the Committee adopted the recommendation and agreed to a Member’s request that Prof. Ciaran White BL and Francis Costello be invited to a future to address the Committee in relation to their research on the possibility of Northern Ireland securing European Parliament and European Committee of the Regions elected representation.