1. Please provide three previous versions of the full PDF plan published prior to the currently published Devon Carbon Plan (DCP)
Please refer to the draft Interim Devon Carbon Plan.
This is the only version available.
2. What cost/benefit analysis has been done for the implementation of the plan? Please provide any relevant documentation / reports on this cost/benefit analysis.
Please refer to Section 12.2 of the Plan. This relies on the latest analysis undertaken by the UK’s Climate Change Committee (CCC).
3. How much will it cost to implement the various stated DCP improvements/actions that will culminate in the approx. 8,000 kt of CO2 by 2050 as set out in the plan?
The CCC analysis says the annual cost of net-zero will be about 1% of gross domestic product (GDP) every year to 2050. Devon’s GDP is in the region of £18bn per year. Therefore the annual cost to the Devon economy will be about £180m. However, the financial benefit will be a 3% increase in GDP by as early as 2035 as result of resources being redirected from fossil fuel imports to UK investment. Therefore the net benefit to Devon of achieving net-zero is 2% of GDP, which is about £360m at current prices. At worst, the size of the economy would be similar to that expected without climate action, but with the valuable co-benefits described throughout the Plan.
4. What temperature reduction (Celsius) will that 8,000 kt reduction in Devon’s carbon emissions equate to, assuming all costed actions are successfully achieved? Plus any other climatic benefits that may have been identified by the achievement of the DCP objectives, e.g. rainfall, sea level or other measures identified in the purpose & challenge section of the DCP.
If the international community delivers actions of a similar ambition to those in the Devon Carbon Plan there will be a 50% chance of keeping the global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees. If we do nothing globally, warming could reach 4 degrees by the end of century. Compared to 4 degrees, in 2060, meeting 1.5 degrees will reduce sea level rise by 10 cm, reduce summer rainfall reductions by 10% and reduce winter rainfall increases by 10%. The impacts of climate change are available in the Devon Climate Emergency publication Climate Change Impact Projections During the 21st Century.