We are looking to understand how much the council has budgeted to spend and invest in sustainability this financial year
Carbon reduction and climate adaptation are integral to the routine operation of many service areas within Devon County Council and there is no practical way in which the amount of funding spent on such areas can be split out from total spend. For example, the annual Waste Management budget of the authority is £37 million, much of which is used to encourage and enable the reduction, reuse and recycling of waste which avoids carbon emissions elsewhere in the economy. It is a similar case with the transport budget.
Operational activities are being amended to increase the emphasis on carbon reduction and climate adaptation through the delivery of the authority’s Environmental Policy. You can read more about this at https://www.devon.gov.uk/environment/environmental-policy. This includes commitments to achieve net-zero carbon across the authority’s direct activities and its supply chain by 2030.
The authority is providing leadership on Devon-wide climate issues by establishing the Devon Climate Emergency partnership and has provided £250,000 to facilitate the preparation of a Devon Carbon Plan and a Devon, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Climate Adaptation Plan. The Interim Devon Carbon Plan is currently available for consultation at https://www.devonclimateemergency.org.uk/interimcarbonplan/. The COVID-19 recovery process is closely linked to this agenda which, as an example, has secured £1.1m this year for Devon County Council to accelerate the retrofitting of homes with poor energy performance for the most vulnerable people in the area.