Devon Carbon Plan
Democracy inaction
The poor record of the county council-led Devon Climate Emergency Response Group on keeping the public informed about what it is up to reached a new low this month, when it simultaneously published the minutes of ten meetings on the same day, some from as long ago as August.
County council doubles down on pension fund divestment position
Devon Pension Fund remains committed to fossil fuel investment despite increasingly untenable pension fund committee position that relies on unfounded shareholder influence claims and failure to understand sector position and plans.
30 year plan for SW transport outlined in consultation document
Strategic vision places investment in roads ahead of decarbonisation despite acknowledging the region’s high car dependency rate.
Devon Pension Fund fossil fuel investment position exposed by Shell and BP AGM votes
Shareholder support for Paris Agreement-compatible goals increases but fails to prevent continuing oil and gas exploration, extraction, production or consumption as experts intensify warnings that emissions reductions goals will be missed.
South West Exeter district heating network plan abandoned
Property developers refuse to back scheme despite local authorities committing £7.3 million to project to supply 2500 new homes with waste heat from Marsh Barton incinerator, Exeter’s largest single source of carbon emissions.
Follow the money
Glenn Woodcock and Roli Martin of Global City Futures were invited to join the board which oversees the Devon Carbon Plan at its meeting last month and given the same decision-making powers as the rest of the board, which is almost exclusively composed of public sector organisations.