On 29 September 2014 Council agreed to support the Covenant of Mayors initiative and authorised the Lord Mayor to sign the Covenant adhesion form. By signing up to the Covenant of Mayors the Council committed to submit a Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP) for the City of Oxford. The SEAP does not set any new targets but estimates our baseline emissions in 2005 and captures the actions and policies that the Council and its partners are implementing to reduce carbon emissions. These actions will help to meet the Council’s target of reducing carbon emissions by 40% by 2020 across the whole city. This report will request approval of our aims, objectives and emission reduction target for the City and adoption of the action plan attached to the Sustainable Energy Strategy.

The Executive Director for Community Services submitted a report which sought approval for the publication and submission of Oxford’s sustainable energy action plan (‘Low Carbon Oxford: A Route Map to 2020’) to the EU Covenant of Mayors scheme.

Cllr Tanner, Board member for a Clean Green Oxford presented the report. He explained that the Council is a member of the Covenant of Mayors, and is required to present them with this report on the city’s progress in reducing its carbon emissions.

He believed the Council’s target of 40% carbon reduction is in reach.   He thanked people, businesses and institutions in Oxford for  reducing their carbon emissions

Cllr Price asked if there are areas which could do more.

The Sustainable City Team Manager explained that the Council had done a good job of working with top employers of Oxford to reduce their carbon emissions. 

Cllr Price asked if there was more we could do to disseminating knowledge and share what works well and what doesn’t. He suggested promoting the Low Carbon Oxford website which includes a number of examples.

The City Executive Board resolved to:

1.    Approve the ‘Low Carbon Oxford: A Route Map to 2020’ report and the accompanying Sustainable Energy Action Plan to the European Commission’s Covenant of Mayors initiative.

2.    Delegate authority to the Executive Director of Community Services to amend and agree the final text and design; and then submit the Low Carbon Oxford: A Route Map to 2020’ report and the accompanying Sustainable Energy Action Plan to the European Commission’s Covenant of Mayors initiative.

3.    Recommend that Council notes that the submission of the Sustainable Energy Action Plan to the Covenant of Mayors fulfils the Council’s decision of 20 July 2015 to sign up to the Compact of Mayors as these two initiatives are merging into a single global initiative.