Net Zero Strategy Approach For Highland
10th December 2021
Highland Councillors have agreed an ambitious approach to developing a net zero strategy and action plan for the region that will maximise external funding to deliver its climate change targets.
Councillors welcomed feedback on staff and Members' attendance at COP26 which helped to secure a variety of benefits and new opportunities to support and strengthen the Council’s approach to climate action.
Members also agreed to endorse Cosla’s call on the Scottish Government to recognise the vital role which local government is playing to tackle climate change and to acknowledge that additional external funding is required in order to fully deliver the Council’s climate emergency duties.
Councillors agreed that the Council will establish a Net Zero Strategy Group comprising officers working across council services with governance of projects scrutinised by Councillors. The 21 projects or ‘workstreams’ include for example:
Development of a Net Zero Strategy and Action Plan; and Hydrogen and Low Carbon Heat Strategies.
Bringing communities, business and organisations together to form ‘Highland Adapts’ enabling the region to adapt to impacts of climate change.
£17M Salix funding (for lighting and boiler replacements, new hydro, solar and building management systems);
Fleet decarbonisation; Smart Buildings; and Energy efficient schemes across the council’s estate.
Securing World Heritage Site status through the Flow Country World Heritage Site Project and supporting the Flow Country case study of the area as a carbon sink or negative carbon landscape; and
Developing a business case for the Scottish Government’s £10m Green Growth Accelerator Programme.
Climate Change Working Group Chair, Cllr Trish Robertson said: "We have a lot to do to achieve our ambitions on Climate Change. This report to Council today highlights where we are and directs us to the next steps in the process."
Leader of the Council Margaret Davidson said: “Local Government are the implementors of this and our role cannot be understated. We need to align what we are doing with national targets and with what is important in Highland. We need a clear action plan and milestones and I really want to see us engaging more with our young people on this as well.”
Related Businesses
Related Articles
As intimated in Highland Council's budget plan, a new senior management structure is to be implemented following approval by Council 14th March. It reconfigures the senior management team into two layers, rather than three and brings Highland Council into line with other benchmarked authorities.
Today, Morrison Construction introduced some of their local apprentices who are working on the UK Governments' Levelling Up Funded refurbishment project at the Northern Meeting Park in Inverness. All these apprentices have been recruited from the Highland area.
The by-election to elect a councillor to represent Ward 19 - Inverness South on The Highland Council has been won by Duncan Cameron McDonald - Independent who was one of the eight candidates who contested the vacancy. Voters in the ward went to the poll yesterday (Thursday 11 April) and the by-election count was held this morning in The Highland Council Headquarters in Inverness.
The Technology Placement Programme offers funding to businesses in the Highland Council area to cover up to 70% of the cost of employing a student or graduate. The Technology Placement Programme offers funding to businesses in the Highland Council area to cover up to 70% of the cost of employing a student or graduate.
Following the success of its Business Digital Grant scheme launched last year, The Highland Council is delighted to announce further funding. This is to help Highland companies access digital support alongside other business growth support.
The Highland Council is delighted to confirm a highly successful second year for Public Service Obligation (PSO) flights between Wick and Aberdeen. The period from April 2023 to March 2024 has seen a substantial increase in passenger numbers, with several months seeing over 1,000 passengers using the service, and overall the service has seen year on year growth of 25%.
Members of Highland Council, who met on Thursday 14 March 2024, approved a corporate Digital Ambition, which has been designed to deliver significant organisational change across Council services, recognising the current priorities within the organisation. The Strategy, which is embedded within the wider Council Delivery Plan, has been developed to focus attention and resources on areas of change which will deliver the greatest benefit to the Council.
The Council remains committed to supporting mentoring in our schools, including the support that is currently delivered through the MCR Pathways programme. Highland Council is currently undertaking a review of Employability Support provided by a number of different council services and how these relate to the work carried out by external partners and in our schools.
Highland Council members have considered and agreed a revised draft Highland Outcome Improvement Plan. The partnership plan has been reviewed and updated by the Community Planning Partnership.
Members at today's (14 March 2024) meeting of The Highland Council agreed the local authority's new draft Community Wealth Building Strategy. They were also asked to note that a period of public engagement on the draft will now begin, with a final strategy returning to full Council for consideration in September.