Attendees
| Claire Pearce | University of Plymouth (Chair) |
| Ian Bailey | University of Plymouth |
| Ian Hutchcroft | Energiesprong UK |
| Hannah Lawrie | Ricardo and the Chartered Institute of Wastes Management’s South West Centre Council |
| Colin Taylor | South West Infrastructure Partnership |
| Ashnish Ghadiali | Radical Ecology/ University of Exeter |
| Peter Nickol | Exeter and District Bus User Group |
| Gill Westcott | Transition Exeter and New Prosperity Devon |
| Lyndis Cole | Ecologist and Landscape Planner |
| Harriet Bell | Riverford Organics |
| James Shorten | Terra Perma Geo |
| Nik Bowyer | The Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (CIHT) South West |
| Richard Betts | Met Office/ University of Exeter |
| Emily Reed | Devon Climate Emergency (Secretariat) |
Apologies
| Doug Eltham | Devon County Council |
| Tim Jones | South West Business Council |
| Kalkidan Legesse | Owni |
| George Middlemiss | Regen |
| Rod Birtles | Devon Communities Together |
| Patrick Devine-Wright | University of Exeter |
| Laura Cardenas | Rothamsted |
1. Introductions
Claire Pearce introduced Colin Taylor as the new representative of the South West Infrastructure Partnership (SWIP), replacing Paula Hewitt. Colin is Emeritus Professor of Earthquake Engineering at the University of Bristol and an Institute for Civil Engineers Policy Fellow on Sub-national Infrastructure Decarbonisation. The rest of the Task Force introduced themselves.Â
2. Minutes of the Previous Meeting
Emily Reed reviewed the actions from the previous meeting, which were accepted as a true record. Key updates included:
Doug incorporated the disparity between planning inspectors’ consideration of greenhouse gas reduction policies, compared to the content of the NPPF, into Devon County Council’s response to the National Planning Policy Framework consultation.
Emily updated Devon’s consumption emissions data for 2021, the latest year available, showing that consumption emissions account for 42% of Devon’s carbon footprint.
The Energy and Environment Group at the University of Exeter will update marine and aviation emissions figures next year.
Ian Hutchcroft provided an update on a positive meeting with GB Energy, focusing on community-owned energy.
Tim is still to provide information on the government’s statement about offshore wind farms.
Ian Hutchcroft fed back that he and Ashish had attended the Response Group meeting to discuss Devon’s carbon emissions trajectory, emphasizing the need for prioritizing high-impact carbon-reducing actions. At the meeting, they commended work done by the partnership to date, but highlighted that current efforts have been insufficient to achieve the scale of emissions reductions required and the importance of focusing on eliminating fossil fuel emissions. The Response Group responded positively, agreeing on the necessity of a workshop facilitated by the Carbon Trust to strategize next steps and ensure effective actions. Ian felt their message was well-received and impactful.
Matters arising and actions carried over:
ACTION: Tim is to provide information on the government’s statement about no longer needing community support for offshore wind farms.
ACTION: George to share an update on the GB energy visit.
3. Climate Emergency Partnership workshop with the Carbon Trust
During the discussion on the Climate Emergency Partnership workshop with the Carbon Trust, several key points and recommendations emerged.
Emily Reed emphasized that the workshop aims to focus on the implementation of the carbon plan, with practical and impactful actions. The goal is to ensure the workshop and follow up to it is short, sharp, and action-oriented.
Ian Bailey and Ian Hutchcroft highlighted the importance of having the right people in the room, particularly senior leaders and decision-makers, to ensure effective outcomes. Hutchcroft suggested using the emergency planning process to secure attendance from senior executives. Colin Taylor added that including a spectrum of participants, from senior to junior levels, would ensure comprehensive engagement and follow-through.
Richard Betts and Harriet Bell discussed the need to prioritize actions that can make the biggest impact and are practical to implement. Bell also suggested considering the current political context and potential changes in national policy that could affect local actions. Nik Bowyer emphasized identifying barriers to success and strategies to overcome them, both at local and national levels.
Gill Westcott and Ian Bailey stressed the need to broaden outreach to include community groups and businesses, emphasizing their role in climate action. Westcott highlighted the importance of community mobilization and support for local efforts.
Recommendations:
The task force collectively recommended using the emergency planning trigger to ensure senior leaders, as well as supporting staff, attend the workshop. They also suggested broadening the scope of the workshop to include community and business engagement, focusing on practical, high-impact actions, and addressing barriers to success. The goal is to develop clear, actionable outcomes from the workshop to drive forward the climate agenda.
4. Overview Progress Report
Emily Reed provided an overview of the progress report, highlighting mixed results in communications:
LinkedIn saw a 3.3% growth, while Instagram and Facebook grew less than 1%, and YouTube saw no growth. The newsletter and X (formerly Twitter) experienced slight declines.
Emily attributed these changes to the reduced capacity following the departure of the Climate Emergency Support Officer and expressed hope for improvement once a replacement is hired.
Harriet Bell questioned the usefulness of the growth metrics, suggesting that understanding the purpose and impact of the engagement would be more valuable. Emily Reed agreed to consider how reporting on communications could be improved.
Gill Westcott suggested that the new officer might want to join Blue Sky for more constructive conversations and emphasized the importance of remaining on X to counter climate denial narratives. Emily agreed that a conscious decision on managing X is needed.
Emily Reed shared updates on various initiatives, including a £16 million pot of money for projects associated with devolution, with many having a sustainability focus. She also covered consultations on the local transport plan, a green impact fund for local businesses and community organizations and funded training for future climate leaders at the University of Plymouth.
ACTION: Emily and the new Climate Emergency Support Officer to consider better metrics of communications engagement to gauge its impact.Â
ACTION: The Partnership to make a conscious decision on managing the X platform, and potentially join Blue Sky for more constructive conversations.Â
ACTION: Emily to continue efforts to get monitoring indicators online in a visually engaging way to help stakeholders better understand the progress and impact of various initiatives.Â
5. Review of Adaptation Strategy Action Plan
Emily Reed provided an overview of the Adaptation Action Plan, noting that the Climate Impact Group has been meeting monthly to review risks and actions. Key points are outlined below.
Many actions are progressing well, but there are issues, particularly with understanding business engagement in climate adaptation and resilience.
Harriet Bell raised concerns about the lack of data on business resilience and suggested securing funding to address this gap. Emily Reed agreed, noting the importance of understanding business resilience and mentioned initial conversations with the Southwest Business Council.
Colin Taylor emphasized the value of capturing resilience stories from businesses to influence others. Emily Reed mentioned a project called Pam’s Story, which dramatizes future scenarios to illustrate the impact of adaptation.
Harriet Bell discussed the challenges farmers face in adapting to climate change, including financial pressures and regulatory barriers. Emily Reed acknowledged these points and suggested engaging with Defra to address these issues.
Ian Bailey suggested that the Carbon Trust workshop should include a focus on broadening outreach to businesses and community groups. Emily Reed agreed, noting the importance of engaging a wide range of stakeholders.
ACTION: Emily to explore funding to research business resilience and understand what businesses are doing around climate resilience.
ACTION: Emily to explore developing a project to capture and share peer-to-peer learning about climate adaptation through resilience stories from businesses.
ACTION: Emily to engage with Defra through the Local Adaptation Advisory Panel regarding options for environmental management and regulatory issues affecting farmers’ adaptation efforts.
ACTION: Emily to ensure the Carbon Trust workshop includes consideration of broadening outreach to businesses and community groups.
6. Review of Built Environment Theme Actions
Emily Reed highlighted the need for a retrofit strategy, noting that Regen is poised to support this work with Energy Saving Devon. The strategy aims to provide clarity on roles, identify actionable opportunities, and develop strategic levers to push forward retrofit efforts. Key points of the discussion are outlined below.
Ian Hutchcroft emphasized the importance of simplifying and prioritizing the Devon Carbon Plan in relation to retrofit, suggesting that a clear strategy with specific targets and actions is needed.
Colin Taylor raised the point that retrofit strategies should be aligned with those of other counties to ensure a coordinated approach. Emily Reed agreed, noting that there are plans to review evidence and learn from other models.
James Shorten mentioned the potential for a shared planning officer to help develop progressive climate planning policies. Emily Reed said that the Tactical Group has given support for this idea and suggested looking at best practices from other regions.
Nik Bowyer highlighted the potential impact of changes in national policy, such as the creation of more unitary authorities, on local planning efforts. Emily Reed acknowledged the opportunities and risks associated with such changes.
ACTION: Emily to feed back comments on the scope of the retrofit strategy to her colleague, ensuring it captures all relevant points raised in the discussion.
ACTION: Emily to explore the potential for a shared planning officer to help develop progressive climate planning policies, looking at best practices from other regions.
7. Recommendations to the Response Group
Emily Reed sought clarification of the key recommendations to the response group that had emerged from the conversation:
- Use the Local Resilience Forum emergency response trigger to ensure sufficiently senior leaders, as well as personnel who will implement actions, attend the Carbon Trust workshop.Â
- Ensure the workshop focuses on practical, high-impact actions, and addressing barriers to success.Â
- Ensure the Carbon Trust workshop includes a focus on broadening outreach to businesses and community groups.Â
- Secure or provide funding to research business resilience and understand what businesses are doing around climate resilience.Â
- Develop a project to capture and share peer-to-peer learning about climate adaptation through resilience stories from businesses.Â
- Engage with Defra regarding options for environmental management and regulatory issues affecting farmers’ adaptation efforts.Â
8. AOB
During the “Any Other Business” section of the meeting, the following points were discussed:
Emily Reed mentioned that she would provide further details on the Carbon Trust workshop once they are available. She expressed hope that some members would be able to attend the workshop before the next scheduled meeting in March.
Emily Reed and Claire Pearce extended holiday wishes to the group, thanking everyone for their input and participation throughout the year.
Harriet Bell suggested considering the use of Miro for visual and interactive note-taking during meetings, as it might be more accessible and engaging than Excel. Emily Reed acknowledged the suggestion and mentioned that they had experimented with Miro in the past and could revisit it.
ACTION: Emily to consider using Miro to capture feedback on the progress report.
Ian Hutchcroft and Claire Pearce thanked Emily Reed for her hard work and dedication in keeping the group informed and organized.
Next meeting date is the March 12th at 10:00 AM.
