The Economic Development and Environmental Management Scrutiny Committee met to discuss the council's progress towards its Net Zero targets and to review the committee's forward work programme. The committee agreed to support the publication of the Annual Net Zero Report 2024-25 and approved the Forward Work Programme for the meeting on 21st October 2025.

Climate Change, Net Zero Annual Report 2024/25

The committee agreed to recommend Option 1, to note the progress made on climate change, including the council's carbon footprint, support the publication of the Annual Net Zero Report 2024-25, note the progress of the Citizens Panel, and note the intentions for a Mid-Point Review Decarbonisation Plan 2020-2030.

The Annual Net Zero Report 2024-25 provided an update on the council's progress towards its Net Zero ambitions, which are based on Welsh Government's two Net Zero targets: Net Zero 2030 for the Welsh Public Sector (organisational emissions) and Net Zero 2050 for all of Wales (territorial emissions). The report detailed the council's carbon footprint, dividing emissions into three scopes:

• Scope 1: Direct emissions from assets the council has day-to-day operational control of.
• Scope 2: Indirect emissions from electricity use.
• Scope 3: Other indirect emissions resulting from the council's procurement and other organisations delivering services on its behalf.

The report noted a 5% fall in non-spend based carbon emissions and a cumulative 23% fall over the five years since the 2019/20 baseline. The main cause of the reduction was a 10% fall in gas consumption.

The report also highlighted the Citizens' Forum on the Future of Travel in Blaenau Gwent, which brought together 19 randomly selected residents to discuss how local travel could be improved. The forum produced ten recommendations for what the council and its partners could realistically do over the next five years to improve travel in the borough, as well as a set of fairness principles to inform how these recommendations should be implemented. The council committed to publishing a full response to these recommendations in January 2026.

The report also previewed a Mid-Point Review of the council's Decarbonisation Plan 2020-2030. The review will provide more detail on the council's progress so far, its largest remaining emissions sources, and detailed projections of carbon reductions, costs, and timescales.

Forward Work Programme – 21st October 2025

The committee agreed to approve the Forward Work Programme for the meeting on 21st October 2025 as presented. The programme includes the following topics:

• Waste and Recycling Annual Performance: To receive the annual performance report for Waste and Recycling.
• Visitor Levy: To consider the findings of the consultation and whether to recommend to Cabinet the adoption of the Visitor Levy.
• Public Spaces Protection Orders: To consider the review of the Public Spaces Protection Orders¹ related to dogs (off and on lead).