SSN's 2007 Annual Conference includes a unique pre-consultation session on Scotland's Climate Change Bill. The session will focus around three questions. Question three focusses on [b]delivery of Scotland's Climate Change Declaration:[/b[

Scotland’s Climate Change Declaration brought all 32 Local Authorities and central Government together in a pledge to mitigate and adapt to Climate Change. Is further guidance or support needed to help in this effort and, if so, what should this guidance / support involve? Should there be a standard reporting mechanism on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adaptation for local authorities? Should this guidance and reporting be statutory (explain why yes or no)?
Think about: how to measure the emissions of particular actions, policies, an auditdelivery of Scotland's Climate Change Declaration:[/b[

Scotland’s Climate Change Declaration brought all 32 Local Authorities and central Government together in a pledge to mitigate and adapt to Climate Change. Is further guidance or support needed to help in this effort and, if so, what should this guidance / support involve? Should there be a standard reporting mechanism on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adaptation for local authorities? Should this guidance and reporting be statutory (explain why yes or no)?
Think about: how to measure the emissions of particular actions, policies, an auditing or official reporting process, scorecard, etc.

The following notes were transcribed at the SSN Conference session on the Scottish Climate Change Bill. Group 6; Facilitator: Amie Fulton, SSN

Reporting and Auditing is crucial…

• Reporting must be statutory, and the reporting mechanisms should also have a statutory requirement for review.

• LA reporting requirements must AT A MINIMUM require reporting on Scotland’s Climate Change Declaration commitments.

• Linking the reporting requirement to the strategic objectives and SOA would be helpful – but guidance is needed on the mechanisms for linking these high level strategic objectives with council emission reductions, adaptations and services.

• LAs need to know WHAT they expected to measure and HOW – a consistent approach required.

• Reporting mechanism and audit process needs to be flexible.

• Incremental increases in the stringency of reporting requirements over time would be useful (moving from monitoring direct estate emissions to indirect community emissions for example).

LAs and other public sector bodies need to know what emissions they are being held accountable for. And, whether emissions are being quantified as the ‘local authority’ emissions or public sector emissions?

All 32 local authorities have signed Scotland’s Climate Change Declaration, many have participated in the LA Carbon Management Programme and the Local Footprints Project, there is also an officer group (Scottish Energy Officer Network) working on these issues. However, all 32 LAs are working from very different starting points.

Therefore, reporting and auditing similar to the BV audit as a ‘process’ would be useful. In other words, not prescribing what climate change reductions look like for a local authority, rather auditing on the processes and policies in place within the LA to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

LAs should be encouraged to demonstrate best practice and show improvement year on year. Again – continuous and scheduled statutory review or the reporting requirements should be included.

This audit process should also be flexible enough to allow LAs to identify barriers to reducing emissions that are out with their ‘gift’.

The group suggested the following as an example for incremental reporting. Year one – requirements on the estates emissions (a la the LA carbon management programme), and then in three years time, ask authorities to report on their adaptation processes and policies, and perhaps 3 years later ask LAs to report on how they are tackling community and area-wide emissions.

The group agreed that the carbon management programme was a good starting point – but that more work – especially on adaptation was required beyond this programme.

Guidance is needed…

• On the mechanisms for linking the Scottish Government’s strategic objectives with council emission reductions, adaptations and services.

• On the broader public sector reporting and monitoring framework. What ‘piece of the Scottish share pie’ are LAs responsible for and are we part of the broader public sector share?

• On how to work with partners and overcome barriers to emissions reduction (those out with their gift, but within their sphere of influence). Working with community partners to reduce area emission for example.

• On any conflicting powers between UK and Scotland bills. The example given by the group was that Energy Policy is a reserved matter, whilst Energy Efficiency is devolved.

• Guidance on how and to what degree SEA is required for mitigation and adaptation actions carried out by LAs is needed.


Support is also needed….

Financial support will be needed. Examples given of funding mechanisms that helped to meet targets in the past included: landfill allowance scheme and Council Energy Efficiency Fund, the latter would be more beneficial if expanded to include more innovative efficiency technologies and renewable energy sources.

Other financial support will be required to bring innovation and technology to the market and to the LAs.

Group 14; facilitator: Fiona McDiarmid
Q3A Is further guidance needed?

Big yes!- But feel a bit bamboozled with all the guidance and tool kits – suggest guide on guidance! Maybe some case studies or a recommendation

Ways of getting other people/organisations (other than LA’s) on board – Assumed Health Boards and NHS on board

Will need to be a legal requirement if it is to happen. Will not happen if not statutory or legal commitment.

Ways of collaborating and sharing information, experiences and data
Can enforce this behaviour if the outcome (ie. Target reductions) is statutory or that individual LA’s are accountable in some way.

-Need incentives, reward high performance, penalties for those who are under performing

Specifically target LA Chief Executives and train them. If they are not committed then it won’t happenMake CEO’s accountable

Organise people to come and train or provide guidance to LA’s not just paper.

Guidance around how to influence other areas of public sector, i.e. through planning or procurement requirements

Should there be standard reporting?
Yes – so that there can be monitoring at a central level and reporting as a whole back to UK Government
What should this include?
• Could use SEA templates as a starter (although limit the detail)
• All measurement should be statutory and reporting back as well

• Standardise the measures and formulas as to how the measures are obtained and worked out. This will mean that the data is comparable.
• Should be mandatory

• Guidance as to how to measure other gases not just CO2

• Link in with and build on Carbon Management Programme which has already set a baseline for most LA’s.

• Ensure that there is detailed information on what the measures and targets cover, e.g. for biofuels or for carbon offsetting

• Report in a way that gives LA’s and other LA’s the wider picture, e.g. an overview of the measures each LA is prioritising so that inconsistencies or contradictions in policy can be identified

• Specify targets

• Specifically define what is defined as under the Council estate and how that differentiates from the Council Area

• League table or benchmark data so that LA’s can compare how they are doing with other similar LA’s (e.g. other rural or urban).

• Central Government support for auditing
• Integrate into health and well-being indicators


Other Comments and Observations:
There was comment that the Climate Change Declaration was easy for LA’s to achieve and that the declaration should therefore be more stretching and challenging. It was felt that most LA’s could easily report that they are abiding by the declaration because it covers issues that are already being tackled under different policies (e.g. Carbon Management Programme). There was also a request to extend the declaration to LA areas not just to LA operations.

There was a request for more power and flexibility to be given to LA’s and even for targets to be passed onto LA’s – e.g. the 3% savings each year.

There was also comment that there was no way of prosecuting LA’s or other organisations if they didn’t adhere to any of the climate change pledges. Therefore, LA’s can ‘get away with it’ or do not prioritise it. However, it was felt that more resources could be allocated to those who are under performing and support from high performing areas given.

Resources was also a key concern to all in the group, how to resource or finance the collection and monitoring of measures and prioritise it when there are statutory requirements to fulfil first? A suggestion was for Central Government to specifically support and organise the robust measurement of emissions in LA’s and across Scotland.

Group 13 – Facilitator: Gillian Urquhart,

Question 3
A) Scotland’s Climate Change Declaration brought all 32 Local Authorities and central Government together in a pledge to mitigate and adapt to Climate Change. Is further guidance needed to help in this effort and, if so, what should this guidance contain?
Should there be a standard reporting mechanism on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adaptation for local authorities and, if so, what should be included in a report?
C) Should this guidance and reporting be statutory (explain why yes or no)?

Q3a Is further guidance (and support) needed?
Not altogether new guidance, but there is a job required to identify the gaps in the existing guidance and address these, as well as pulling together what already exists Lots of guidance already available, e.g. from Local Authority Carbon Management Programme (LACM) and other programmes/organisations. It’s a case of making best use of / integrating what’s already there.
In terms of support, yes more is needed because the arrangements are currently too fragmented, there is a need for a one stop shop. Risk of re-inventing wheel
Support - Need forum for local authorities to share experiences and challenges Considered more important to:
• Develop initiatives to get elected members on board
• Identify key people in LAs and make part of job description, KPIs, core competencies, what they’re measured against etc (even if they don’t have an environmental job, e.g. should be part of performance indicators for LA Chief Execs).
• Pull work/initiatives/guidance together. The development of climate change strategy is currently too fragmented.
• Need to mainstream confidence that action is taking place, which will encourage others to act.
More free support is needed. Again, not new info, but making what’s there is freely available. R&D (particularly data) should be funded and there should be a mechanism to ask for R&D to be undertaken. There should be free and non-commercial software/approaches. A few participants felt restricted because of an inability to access baseline data due to confidentiality / commercial reasons. Examples where participants felt they hadn’t been able to access guidance and support for cost reasons were BRE, GIS data and data from Transport for London. i.e. had difficulty getting data from both commercial and government organisations. Already a large number of resources for measuring carbon so needs pulled together and made freely available.

There is a broader, mass education requirement in LAs so that everybody is aware of responsibilities, not only those who know already that that is part of their job.

Need support for clarification of conflict in legislation, i.e. allow waste to heat next to where it can be used? Deliver Govt joined up agenda including carbon and sustainable energy.

If had mandatory reporting as per question below, would need a lot more support and guidance on compliance.

Q3a If yes, what should this contain
Planning guidance model as an example for climate change guidance (e.g. Scottish Planning Policies and Planning Advice Notes) i.e. has statutory and non-statutory elements. Central resource, different topics – definitive feel, get updated over time.

Needs to suit/fit with a range of situations/levels of progress within LAs (quality assurance for what you’re doing but enough for those starting from a blank slate).

Must have statutory elements otherwise when ‘times are tough’ it will be dropped in favour of other obligations that are statutory. But needs enough flexibility to allow innovation
Should have best value element taking full life costs into account

Good practice examples No – just to showcase various successful approaches and allow LAs to learn from other’s experiences.


Q3b Should there be standard reporting?
It won’t happen otherwise. Needs to be mandatory.

Q3b If yes, what should this include?
Should have one standardised approach Yes (but within reason. Need to know the burden of asking LAs to report on each measure. Ease of measuring, cost, validation of data issues).

More elements should become statutory as time goes on (gradual capacity building etc). Needs enough of mandatory element to maintain momentum otherwise will get squeezed by other commitments. Should go in comprehensive agreement, business plans.
Should integrate with LAs Carbon Reduction Commitment, which they already have to sign up to.

Should give this a reporting structure, or at least develop a mandatory reporting structure consistent with it.

Should be broader than for LAs. Should be one standardised approach across public and private organisations. Australian “Greenhouse Challenge Programme” example, which covers both public and private sector organisations and all who sign up to it report in the same way through the “Online System for Comprehensive Activity Reporting”.

Programme is mandatory for local govt and public bodies to sign up to therefore their reporting is mandatory. Many (and increasing numbers of) private sector companies have also signed up so reporting for them is also mandatory.
Australian “Online System for Comprehensive Activity Reporting” (energy & greenhouse gases) (Free software = key to success).
• Data are verified. Software allows you to enter data on various elements and the calculations are done for you (the emissions factors are controlled centrally)
Should have different levels of emissions reporting to reflect different levels of control (think this example may have come from ISO 18025 or carbon reduction commitment but not sure).
Report should have “hard” and “soft” elements. Be rigid where you know you can be.
• Should have hard, verifiable data that it is compulsory to provide; and
• Softer information on what LA is doing and plans to do including info on services, policies, transport, procurement etc (compulsory topics but some flexibility)(competition among LAs might drive improvement in reporting over time)
Should include transport, energy, water, food etc but collecting baseline will be very difficult.
Other comments
• SEA Act didn’t pick up climate change specifically. Could make mandatory through that process. Different themes but very little guidance. Should have a statutory consultee for climate change/carbon.
• Should build into PPP arrangements
• Need for long term subsidy to drive market (German example?)