Agenda item

“I have been dismayed by the apparent backsliding on the commitment for the Pension Fund to divest from investment in fossil fuels:

Can you please tell me how much has been invested in the Councils’ fleet of vehicles since the declaration of the Climate Emergency and how much of this has been for electric or other non-fossil fuel vehicles?  Can you reassure me that with Council vehicles at least, great progress has been made and we are not being left behind other Councils such as Swansea, and also, much of Europe.”

“I have been dismayed by the apparent backsliding on the commitment for the Pension Fund to divest from investment in fossil fuels:

Can you please tell me how much has been invested in the Councils’ fleet of vehicles since the declaration of the Climate Emergency and how much of this has been for electric or other non-fossil fuel vehicles?  Can you reassure me that with Council vehicles at least, great progress has been made and we are not being left behind other Councils such as Swansea, and also, much of Europe.”

Response by Councillor Cefin Campbell, Executive Board Member for Communities and Rural Affairs:-

“Thank you Dr Laxton for your question. I’m not quite sure whether I agree fully with the opening comment about backsliding on the commitment of the pension fund. I’ve already given a comprehensive answer on that which shows that we are moving in the right direction and have made great strides over the last three years in divesting away from fossil fuels. But, I do acknowledge there’s a way to go again.

So, in terms of fleet replacement, we have a rolling five-year programme and by the end of this month the authority will have purchased an additional four ultra-low emission vehicles which, basically are electric pool cars. By the end of 2021/22 we will also conclude a review of the Fleet Replacement strategy which will include an assessment of the supply market for Ultra Low Emission Vehicles. In addition to this, we’ve included an action in the Transport business plan to update the Council’s Fleet Strategy in order to reduce the level of Carbon and Nitrogen Dioxide emissions from our transport operations over the next five years. The way we’re hoping to achieve this is by reducing fossil fuel use by introducing alternative powered ULEV vehicles and also procure more vehicles and plant using whole of life costings for procurement. I have a long list here that I can add to but, I’m aware of the time so what I could do is send you this whole list of the Actions in the Transport Business Plan that we are currently looking at. So, hopefully, we can invest more on ELV vehicles as we move forward and you will remember that we were the first local authority in Wales to introduce electric pool cars back in 2012 and, just as an additional bit of information over the last 6 years we’ve reduced the number of miles travelled by our staff in private vehicles by over 1.3 million miles per annum. So, that’s quite an achievement but, again, I’m not complacent we have a long way to go. I hope that answers your question.

Dr Laxton asked the following supplementary question:-

“I am very re-assured to see that much is being done and I was pleased to see the installation of solar panels for example on the leisure centre roof down in Johnstown. I’m sure that you are aware that electric vehicles are not the only game in town when it comes to vehicles and can you tell me if the council is looking at not just electric vehicles but other low carbon vehicles such as for example hydrogen power for buses and such like”

Councillor Campbell responded as follows:-

“Yes, absolutely, is the straight answer to that. Electric vehicles are starting to become some developments in the past as we’re moving on quickly to hydrogen powered vehicles. But, certainly, the challenge for us is in terms of our fleet and the nature of the fleet vehicles that we have. I’ll just use the refuse vehicles that collect our bins every week as an example. The challenge we have is the rurality and the geographical size of Carmarthenshire. If we were to fit for example one of our refuse lorries with a battery instalment, that poses a challenge especially if going out to rural communities to collect bins in terms of how far or how long that battery can last. So, we need to do many things. We need to invest in more battery powered vehicles and hydrogen powered vehicles but, we also need to increase the number of battery charging points as well so these refuse lorries can go out into rural communities recharge their batteries and then move onto the next piece of work. So, all of this is in the early stages. We would have done more as I’ve mentioned already if it weren’t for the pandemic. But we are hoping now that the worst of that is behind us and we can move forward with confidence in looking at new ways of using our fleet and also investing in decarbonisation programmes.