Agenda item
CO2 Emissions
Minutes:
The Senior Consultant introduced the report
and stated that this had come from a request from Councillor
Muldowney at December’s Task Force meeting, and set out the
measures for CO2 emissions that had been included in the Hatch
report, which had been published on the Council’s website at:
Lower Thames Crossing proposals | Thames crossing |
Thurrock Council. He stated that the Hatch report
included 23 direct mitigation measures; 12 council-led support
measures; and, 22 legacy measures; and, and 2 of these related
particularly to CO2 emissions. He stated that these two mitigation
measures included the establishment of ultra-low emissions vehicle
(ULEV) targets on the LTC, and a carbon off-setting plan through
the introduction of willow planting. He stated that the team were
currently receiving HE’s response to these two mitigation
requests. The Senior Consultant outlined page two of the report,
which highlighted the cost of willow planting, and how it would
partly address CO2 emissions along the route. He stated that the
DCO Version 1 had included the Environmental Statement, as well as
the Register of Environmental Actions and Commitments (REAC), and
when revisions to these documents were included in DCO Version 2
submission they would be legally binding. He explained that the
team were currently working to ensure that willow planting was
included in the REAC and CoCP, and although HE had agreed to some
measures in the REAC, these still needed to be developed
further.
The Senior Consultant then moved on and described how the
Department for Transport’s first draft of the Decarbonisation
Plan had been published in March 2020, and had been through
consultation so people could submit their ideas for
decarbonisation. He stated that he understood that the Department
for Transport planned to publish the final document in April 2021,
which could contain measures that would affect the LTC, such as
ULEV targets. The Senior Consultant briefly described the work that
Transport Action Network (TAN) had been undertaking, and corrected
the report by stating that TAN were only able to challenge the Road
Investment Strategy (RIS) 2 on climate change, not air quality or
SEA. He stated that currently HE did not have to comply with their
current carbon and energy plan, but had to show that they had
assessed carbon levels on the route. He added that HE also had to
take into consideration the governments net zero goal, as
approximately 5+ million tonnes of carbon would be created during
construction and for the first sixty years of the route opening. He
stated that HE had already agreed to reduce the size of assets
along the route, many other measures including changing the concrete mix to reduce emissions, but
Thurrock would continue to push for further mitigation.
Councillor Muldowney questioned L20 of the Hatch report, and asked
if this would have an impact on CO2 emissions. She also questioned
how much willow planting would offset carbon emissions by, as she
had worked it out to only offset carbon output from the LTC by
0.2%. She felt that although this was a good project, it would only
be minimally effective. She felt that Thurrock and the UK needed to
tackle climate change by reducing the number of large concrete
projects, which produced a lot of pollution. She also questioned
how the government could agree a decarbonisation plan as well as
the LTC, which seemed to fundamentally have different goals. The
Senior Consultant responded that HE had already committed to
preparing an electric vehicle strategy, but it seemed to only
include the transport of workers at present. He stated that the
team were waiting to see what plant and construction equipment was
proposed by HE, for example EU rules stated that class six HGVs
were ‘clean’ vehicles, and HE could commit to using
these, as well as electric plant equipment and willow planting. The
Senior Consultant added that page seven of the draft
Decarbonisation Plan emphasised six ways to reduce carbon, which
included: an increased shift to public and active travel;
decarbonising road emissions; decarbonising road vehicles and how
we get our goods; place-based solutions; making the UK a hub for
green transport technology and innovation; and reducing carbon
emissions in a global economy. He stated that this did not include
mention of reducing road building, but Stantec and Thurrock would
continue to push for the LTC to include future travel patterns and
technological changes. He stated that buses would be able to use
the LTC but this needed to be promoted and made easier for people
to access in their routes into and out of the tunnel.
The TCAG Representative highlighted the published Hatch report and
asked if this could be reviewed, as some graphics overlapped text,
which made it difficult to read. The Senior Consultant replied that
he would liaise with the communications team to get this updated,
as necessary. The TCAG Representative questioned where the willow
planting would take place. She also queried how this would be
useful for carbon offsetting as when the willows where chopped down
and burned for biomass fuel, this would cause pollution. She also
questioned point 1.3 of the report and asked how any spoil from the
route could be used for planting, if planting was due to begin this
year. The Senior Consultant replied that he would find the answers
to these questions and reply in writing to the Task Force. The
Ecology and Biodiversity Officer added that the willow planting
would take place on Buckingham Hill, in the area behind the civic
amenities site. He stated that this would be 26 hectares, which had
previously been landfill and was a good site for restoration, as it
had previously been poorly restored. The TCAG Representative asked
if HE had to include non-motorised users in the LTC design, as if
it was an A-road, it would be used by cyclists and walkers. The
Senior Consultant replied that this would be likely to be set-out
in the DMRB guidance, but there were still questions as to whether
the route would be a motorway, expressway or a trunk road and what
implications that had for its design detail. He stated that it
would be called the A122, but the team still did not know what
restrictions or classifications this would carry. He added that an
LTC report had assessed all existing walking, cycling and
horse-rider (WCH) routes in the area, as well as their condition,
potential for upgrade, and missing WCH links, and those top
priorities would be encouraged to be included in the LTC scheme. He
stated that the team would review this assessment and make
suggestions for added links or missing provision if necessary. He
explained that Thurrock had lots of capability for using WCH
routes, but there was not currently the provision to encourage
this, and this needed more detailed work. The Senior Consultant
added that he was also looking into the Northwood Project at
Councillor Rice’s suggestion.
The Chair and Task Force agreed to extend standing
orders.
Supporting documents: