Proposed by: Councillor Iona Gordon
Seconded by: Councillor Owen Jones
This Council notes the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) ‘Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C’, published in October 2018, which found that:
· Human-induced global warming reached approximately 1°C above pre-industrial levels in 2017, increasing at 0.2°C per decade.
· A 1.5°C rise will result in multiple negative impacts, including increases in frequency, intensity and/or amount of heavy precipitation in several regions, and the majority (70–90%) of warm water (tropical) coral reefs that exist today will disappear.
· A 2°C rise will result in much more severe harm, including a greater risk of water scarcity in some regions and increased frequency of severe weather events, droughts, floods, higher sea level rises, crop failures and destruction of land and marine eco-systems.
· With current strategies, the world is on track to overshoot the 1.5°C limit of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Paris Agreement before 2050 and exceed 3°C by 2100.
· Limiting global warming to 1.5°C may still be possible with ambitious action from national and sub-national authorities, civil society, the private sector, indigenous peoples and local communities.
This Council further notes:
· the commitment of the administration to progress a wide range of projects in support of the existing Carbon Reduction Strategy, which include:
- the Radyr Weir hydroelectric scheme;
- the proposed Lamby Way solar farm;
- the proposed district heating network scheme serving areas of Cardiff Bay and the City Centre;
- energy saving initiatives, including the conversion of street lighting to LED;
- the increased use of electric vehicles (e.g. buses, taxis and council vehicles) and provision of charging points within the city;
- the commitment to achieve a 50:50 modal split between car and sustainable modes of travel for journeys to work by 2026;
- the construction of new energy efficient council homes; and
- the commitment to work with the Pensions Committee to consider divesting Council investments from fossil fuel companies.
· the £13.9m investment in clean and sustainable energy generation that formed part of the 2019/20 budget that was agreed on 28 February 2019.
· the participation of children and young people from Cardiff and across the world in demonstrations to demand global climate change action by national governments.
· that bold action to reduce carbon emissions can deliver economic benefits in terms of new jobs, economic savings and market opportunities, and can contribute to achieving the Well-being Goals set out in the Well-being of Future Generations Act.
This Council therefore resolves to:
1. join with other councils across the UK in declaring a global ‘climate emergency’ in response to the findings of the IPCC report.
2. support the implementation of the Welsh Government’s new Low Carbon Delivery Plan, as well as a range of measures to further reduce carbon emissions from the Council’s own operations, to help achieve the Welsh Government’s ambition for the public sector in Wales to be carbon neutral by 2030.
3. make representations to the Welsh and UK Governments, as appropriate, to provide the necessary powers, resources and technical support to local authorities in Wales to help them successfully meet the 2030 target.
4. continue to work with partners across the city and region to develop and implement best practice methods that can deliver carbon reductions and help limit global warming.