Our Action Plan

9. Working with Welsh Government

10. Working with Pembrokeshire Public Services Board / Swansea Bay City Deal partners

11. Collaboration with Experts from the Private, Third and Community Sectors

12. Integration, Communication and Behaviours

13. Appendix 1 - Action plan

14. Appendix 2 - Carbon-reduction Summary

15. Appendix 3 - Climate Emergency

16. Appendix 4: Welsh Government Public-sector Outline Decarbonisation Route Map

17. Appendix 5: Glossary of Terms

18. Appendix 6: List of Abbreviations

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Working with Welsh Government

The Environment (Wales) Act 2016 (opens in a new tab) sets a target for the Welsh Government to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% (on 1990 levels) by 2050. The Welsh Government declared a climate emergency on 29 April 2019 (opens in a new tab) and, as a response, accepted the recommendations from the UK Committee on Climate Change (opens in a new tab) for emission reduction of 95% by 2050 with the ambition to be net zero (Note: For Wales/Pembrokeshire carbon emissions (opens in a new tab))

‘Prosperity for All: A Low Carbon Wales’ (opens in a new tab) (March 2018) sets out the Welsh Government’s approach to cutting carbon emissions and increasing efficiency in a way that maximises the wider benefits for Wales, ensuring a fairer and healthier society. It sets out 100 policies and proposals that directly reduce emissions and support the growth of the low-carbon economy across all areas of government, including:

increasing tree planting to, initially, at least 2,000 hectares per year and then doubling that to 4,000 hectares as rapidly as possible;
commissioning an independent feasibility study on carbon-capture use and storage;
reducing emissions from power generation in Wales, including using consenting, planning and permitting powers and developing a policy position on the fuels used to generate power;
encouraging the take-up of electric vehicles by developing a rapid charging network;
an ambition for buses, taxis and private-hire vehicles to be zero emission by 2028;
reviewing Building Regulations to explore how higher energy-efficiency standards can be set for new builds;
working with partners to include more about sustainability and decarbonisation in the new curriculum; and
providing fruit and fuel trees for the entire Mount Elgon region in Uganda by 2030 (carbon offsetting).

From 2010 to 2014, PCC participated in Phase 1 of the mandatory UK-wide Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) Energy Efficiency Scheme (opens in a new tab). Consequently, it has been required to purchase non-refundable allowances for each qualifying tonne of carbon arising from its electricity and gas consumption. The Council paid £233,000 under this scheme, based on its emissions for 2013/14. Via energy-efficiency work, it was exempted from Phase 2 of CRC, which ran from 2014 to 2019 (the exemption effectively saved PCC £932,000 for the duration of Phase 2). Under CRC, while the Council’s emissions continued to reduce, the level of ‘tax’ levied for each tonne of carbon emitted increased annually in order to further incentivise carbon reduction. The CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme was abolished following the 2018/19 compliance year; however, this ‘taxation’ cost will not disappear as the Climate Change Levy (opens in a new tab) will be raised to compensate. The Welsh Government is to consult on options for a successor to the CRC Scheme (Policy 19, ‘Prosperity for All: A Low Carbon Wales’).

The Welsh Government has an ambition for a carbon-neutral public sector by 2030 (opens in a new tab), and will be supporting the public sector to baseline, monitor and report progress towards carbon neutrality (Policy 20, ‘Prosperity for All: A Low Carbon Wales’). Based on recent carbon footprinting undertaken by Natural Resources Wales and NHS Wales, the Welsh Government proposes to prioritise the following four key themes to meet this ambition:

(1) Mobility and Transport;

(2) Procurement;

(3) Land Use; and

(4) Buildings.

Aether Ltd has secured the contract to develop the reporting guidance, and PCC is one of several public bodies that have agreed to become ‘early adopters’ and work with the Welsh Government to establish consistent, Wales-wide methodologies for carbon-emissions reporting. The final set of documentation was to be delivered to the Welsh Government by the end of 2019/20 but this has been delayed due to COVID-19. It is currently intended that final documentation be circulated to all public bodies as soon as possible. This will assist in baselining carbon emissions, developing plans and monitoring progress towards emissions-reduction targets.

As mentioned in previous sections, the Council is working with the Welsh Government Energy Service to explore and deliver opportunities for large-scale renewable-energy projects and ULEVs.

As outlined previously, the Re:fit Cymru project is a collaboration between Welsh Government and the Council using a WG pre-procured contractor framework and Salix invest-to-save funds.

From 2014 to 2019, PCC collaborated on a WG-funded ‘Smart Living’ project looking at the creation of a zero-carbon area at Milford Waterfront. WG’s ‘Smart Living Initiative’ funded the studies and the Council provided the ‘governance’ link to what was, in fact, a Port of Milford Haven (PoMH)-led project. The final report, via a consortium led by Cardiff University, recommends the use of renewable-energy generators to power a smart grid; battery storage for grid balancing; electrolysed green hydrogen production (for storage, heat and transport); biogas production from AD plant(s); and the use of heat pumps for hybrid heating. This project was the catalyst for the Milford Haven: Energy Kingdom (MH:EK) project, which is expanded upon in Section 3.6.

The Council is part of the WG Hydrogen Reference Group, which intends to promote discussions on the best way for Wales to progress this market. The group is closely linked into MH:EK and the South Wales Industrial Cluster (SWIC), as well as the broader hydrogen supply chain and networks. WG intends to develop its hydrogen policy position and identify funding opportunities. The outcomes from this group work will, in turn, feed through into the Welsh Government’s internal hydrogen group, which includes representatives from across many departments with interests in hydrogen.

The Welsh Government Energy Service is proposing to develop a Regional Energy Plan for the Swansea Bay City Region based on recent work produced by the Institute of Welsh Affairs (IWA) and Regen SBCR a Renewable Energy Future (opens in a new tab). The Council is engaged with this work stream.

Actions to be undertaken

Ref: NZC - 23

Action: Collaborate with Welsh Government and other ‘early adopter’ public bodies in order to introduce carbon reporting as part of the ambition to achieve a carbon-neutral Welsh public sector by 2030.
Lead officer: Sustainable Development & Energy Manager
By when: June 2021

Ref: NZC - 24

Action: Continue to engage with Welsh Government in all spheres of decarbonisation.
Lead officer: Sustainable Development & Energy Manager
By when: Ongoing

ID: 11713, revised 24/07/2024