Issue - meetings

Background:

This report provided an update on the Kent and Medway Energy and Low Emissions Strategy (KMELES) and sought its formal adoption by the Cabinet.

The report explained that the Strategy had been produced by Kent County Council following a public consultation period during July-September 2019. Medway Council, along with all other Kent local authorities, was invited to participate and responded to the consultation on the Draft Strategy and engaged further in an Implementation Plan workshop at the end of 2019.

Following the evaluation of comments received during the consultation process, a final Draft Strategy was produced with 10 high level priorities identified for action. The Strategy was further reviewed and amended during May 2020 to account for Covid-19.

The report noted that the Strategy had been approved by the Kent Chief Executives Group and Kent Leaders Group with the Leader as co-signatory. The Strategy was formally launched by Kent County Council at the Kent and Medway Net-Zero Conference on 27 November 2020. Local authorities across Kent were now being asked to take the Strategy through their own internal processes for formal adoption.

The report explained that the Strategy would inform the Council’s emerging Climate Change Action Plan.

The Strategy had been considered by the Regeneration, Culture and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 3 December 2020, details of which were set out in section 6 of the report.

Reasons:

Approving the Kent and Medway Energy and Low Emissions Strategy will support the Council’s emerging Climate Change Action Plan and contribute to the Council’s actions to address the Climate Change Emergency declared by Council in April 2019.

The Strategy identifies a list of high-level priorities which will ensure that Kent and Medway will achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.