Quick Navigation
- Attendees
- 1. Minutes of the Previous Meeting
- 2. Financing Net Zero Project Update — Polly Frost
- 3. Update on the CCA Climate Change and Net Zero Advisory Group — Doug Eltham
- 4. Recommendations from the Devon Climate Emergency Partnership April Workshop
- 5. Project Progress Report
Attendees
- Meg Booth Devon County Council (Chair)
- Doug Eltham Devon County Council (Environment Group)
- Emily Reed Devon Climate Emergency
- Mark Burton South West Net Zero Hub
- Eileen Russell Wales and West Utilities
- Joanna Chamberlain University of Exeter
- Jason Ball Mid Devon District Council
- Polly Frost Devon County Council (Economy Team)
- Sara Gibbs Public Health Devon
- Matthew Blythe East Devon District Council
- David Edmondson Torbay Council
- Claire Gibson University of Plymouth
1. Minutes of the Previous Meeting
Action Items Reviewed:
- Meg Booth acknowledged she did not email the group as previously agreed due to time constraints.
- Emily Reed is coordinating input for a governance restructuring paper. Some members of the Climate Task Force have expressed interest.
- Joanna Chamberlain and Meg Booth confirmed they had a catch-up.
- Emily is working on better signposting for farm innovation case studies. She has received extensive material from the Devon Agri Innovation Programme and is filtering for relevance to sustainability and climate resilience.
- The Environment Agency has offered to help disseminate this material.
ACTION: Emily Reed to continue refining and filtering farm innovation case studies and decide how to signpost to these case studies.
ACTION: Emily Reed to coordinate governance restructuring input and liaise with those interested in helping to develop proposals.
2. Financing Net Zero Project Update — Polly Frost
Project Overview:
- A 2-year Innovate UK-funded project focused on overcoming non-technical barriers to net zero, particularly financing.
- Aimed to explore how Devon can accelerate delivery of its Carbon Plan using innovative finance models.
Key Projects:
Solar on Landfill Sites:
- Explored feasibility of solar farms on old landfill sites.
- Challenges include asset ownership, site stability, and grid connection costs.
- Ongoing discussions with National Grid and Great British Energy.
Heathfield Industrial Estate:
- Investigated potential for microgrids and renewable energy.
- Found low energy demand and poor building quality.
- Collaboration with University of Exeter and South West Net Zero Hub.
- Lessons learned about replicability and data access.
Connecting the Culm (Natural Capital Project):
- Focused on flood mitigation through natural flood management.
- Partnership with Network Rail to reduce flood-related disruptions.
- £80,000 contract signed for further design work.
- Potential for biodiversity net gain and carbon credits.
Key Learnings:
- Importance of asset ownership clarity.
- Need for cross-organisational collaboration.
- Democratic cycles and staff capacity are significant barriers.
- Replicable frameworks are being developed for wider use.
Next Steps:
- Final report in progress.
- Opportunities for further engagement and replication across Devon.
ACTION: Polly Frost to finalise and share the project’s final report and “how-to” guide for green finance.
ACTION: Polly Frost to engage with interested stakeholders for deeper dives into case studies and replicable models.
ACTION: Doug Eltham and David Edmondson to share insights from existing solar farm projects, especially those on landfill sites.
ACTION: Polly Frost to collaborate with Centre for Energy and Environment to extract replicable insights from Heathfield modelling.
3. Update on the CCA Climate Change and Net Zero Advisory Group — Doug Eltham
First Meeting Held: 20 June 2025.
Purpose: One of six advisory groups to the County Combined Authority (CCA), focused on guiding delivery plans and funding.
Membership: Includes local authorities and external partners (e.g., Energy 361).
Recommendations from the first meeting:
- Increase business representation.
- Strengthen links with Local Nature Partnerships.
- Establish task and finish groups aligned with delivery plans.
Governance Link: Potential for shared delivery groups between the CCA and the Devon Climate Emergency partnership (e.g., retrofit).
Concerns Raised:
- Need for clarity on the group’s role and terms of reference.
- Importance of integrating climate across all CCA advisory groups.
ACTION: Doug Eltham and Emily Reed to explore how to achieve governance alignment between the CCA advisory groups and the Devon Climate Emergency partnership e.g. shared delivery groups.
ACTION: Meg Booth to confirm if the group’s terms of reference are available to circulate.
ACTION: Polly Frost to keep Sean updated on finance project outcomes for potential CCA investment opportunities.
4. Recommendations from the Devon Climate Emergency Partnership April Workshop
Discussion Points:
- Need to clarify the distinct roles of the Response Group vs. Tactical Group.
- Consider restructuring to improve efficiency and reduce duplication.
- Suggestions to:
- Reduce frequency of Response Group meetings.
- Focus on fewer, high-priority themes.
- Establish thematic task and finish groups (e.g., retrofit).
- Ensure senior-level engagement and buy-in.
- Emphasis on aligning with CCA priorities and governance.
ACTION: Emily Reed and Doug Eltham to draft a restructure proposal for the Tactical Group and present it to the Response Group.
ACTION: All members to review and provide feedback on the recommendations paper and governance proposals.
ACTION: Doug Eltham and Emily Reed to identify top priorities from the Carbon Plan and monitoring data for discussion at subsequent meeting.
Key Themes from Discussion:
- Capacity and resourcing remain major challenges.
- Importance of cross-sector collaboration and shared learning.
- Recognition of successful projects like Connecting the Culm to build on through thematic groups.
- Concerns raised about some councils reversing climate emergency declarations.
5. Project Progress Report
Deferred to Next Meeting due to time constraints.
