Purpose

Our Council Plan and the

Climate Change Strategy (CCS), adopted in July 2020 (and again
as part of the Council Plan re-adoption in February 2024), commit
West Sussex County Council to being carbon neutral and climate
resilient in its own operations by 2030. To achieve these goals, it
was agreed that a comprehensive delivery plan was needed to address
the complexities, interdependencies, and challenges of reducing
carbon emissions and adapting to climate change in a co-ordinated
way. A delivery plan, called the ‘Climate Action &
Adaptation Plan’ (CAAP), has now been developed. It sets out
priority actions and identifies performance measures for the goals
set out in the CCS, as well as corporate and service-level climate
action planning.
 
The CAAP will be used to
implement the Climate Change Strategy over the next three years,
and it is envisaged that further three yearly plans will be
required.
 
This report should be
considered alongside the complete Climate Action & Adaptation
Plan document which sets out the County Council’s current
climate position (e.g., carbon footprint, risks) and identifies key
corporate actions that will be advanced over the next three years
to ensure the ambitions defined in the Climate Change Strategy can
be achieved.    
 

Decision

The Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate
Change is asked to approve the Climate Action & Adaptation Plan
2024-2027 attached as Appendix B to this report.