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STATES OF JERSEY
CARBON NEUTRAL ROADMAP (P.74/2022): SECOND AMENDMENT (P.74/2022 AMD.(2)) – COMMENTS
Presented to the States on 21st April 2022 by the Minister for the Environment
STATES GREFFE
2022 P.74 Amd.(2) Com.
COMMENTS
The Minister for the Environment welcomes the Amendment to P.74/2022 lodged by Deputy Ward and urges the Assembly to support it.
This Amendment proposes reducing the number of electric vehicle grants proposed in Policy TR1 (Speeding up the adoption of electric vehicles) by 400. The associated budget, £1,400,000 from TR1 is then reallocated to Policy TR10 (Active Travel) increasing the original proposed budget of £300,000.
Both policy TR1 and TR10 have been included in the Carbon Neutral Roadmap as a result of the policy development and prioritisation process described in Strategic Policy 4 of the Carbon Neutral Roadmap - Preferred Strategy1 (extract - Appendix 1).
The proposal argues that the increased budget allows greater strides to be made in areas of active travel and makes some proposals for projects / initiatives that could be bought forward. There has been strong ongoing support for these types of softer measures' throughout the Climate Conversation and Citizen's Assembly and in many debates in this Assembly.
Throughout the carbon neutral work, the Minister has championed open dialogue and inclusivity of views. Both policy TR1 and TR10 have been assessed as contributing to the strategic aims of the Carbon Neutral Roadmap and are supported by the public and this Assembly, and the Minister finds much to agree with in the report accompanying the Amendment. Therefore, the Minister can support the proposed reprioritisation in order to further promote safe active travel acknowledging it brings multiple benefits for Islanders.
By reprioritising funding as described by the Proposition, the ability is lost to fund some grants for electric vehicles (some 400 car grant equivalents) under TR1. The Minister can accept this shift in emphasis at this point in the delivery plan as there is an opportunity to revalorise the electric vehicle grant budget when the next term of Government considers the long-term future financing strategy (Strategic Policy 3).
Members will know that a parallel workstream to the Carbon Neutral Roadmap is the Sustainable Transport Policy (STP) led by the Minister for Infrastructure. Further outputs from the STP work are due in 2022 including an Active Travel Plan (details of this are also given in the Roadmap under Policy TR10 pg. 107).
However, whilst work on the Active Travel Plan is progressed, the immediate provision of extra funding for 2022 projects such as those described in the Report can be used to maintain momentum in this important area. The Minister cannot commit to the exact projects that this reallocated budget could support at this time. The Minister will need to work with the Minister for Infrastructure to assess the most cost-efficient and deliverable schemes and assess what carbon benefits they might be able to bring. That said, the Minister recognises the type of initiatives and soft measures associated with walking and cycling outlined in the report and the Minister will give them full consideration or seek equivalent alternatives.
In conclusion attention must be drawn to one final point. The reallocation of this funding towards some softer active travel initiatives is welcomed and it can be used on
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meaningful schemes that contribute to STP and CNR objectives, but it does not solve the Islands active travel needs.
Ultimately the long-term funding requirement for sustainable transport and active travel objectives will need to be considered in the next term of Government by the new States Assembly. It must be remembered that the journey to evolve the Island's hard infrastructure will require substantial investment and likely a rethink of our existing systems.
Nevertheless, the actions proposed by this amendment allow us to maintain and enhance momentum in support of Policy TR10 in the Carbon Neutral Roadmap and implement further active travel initiatives in 2022. On this basis the Minister urges Members to support this amendment.
Statement under Standing Order 37A
The Comment was presented to the Greffier after noon on Thursday 21st April 2022 due to an administrative delay.
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