South Hams District Council

It was then:RESOLVED1. That both a Climate Change and Biodiversity Emergency bedeclared;2. That an Action Plan be developed that outlines how the Council will address the Emergencies and meet or exceed the targets set by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), including an assessment of the viability of a 2030 target and respond to the concerns raised by the IPBES report on global species and habitat loss to be brought to Council for approval within 6 months;3. That the Council commit to collaborating with Devon County Council, all the Devon District Councils, Plymouth City Council and other agencies to address the Emergencies;4. That the Action Plan identify Key Performance Indicators measured against any relevant national standards;5. That a politically balanced Climate Change and Biodiversity Working Group be established that comprises of 6 Members, with the Group Leaders being given delegated authority to put forward their respective nominations after this meeting, with the Group being chaired by the leadExecutive Member for Climate Change;6. That the Working Group be instructed, at its first meeting,to consider the setting up of a Citizens’ Assembly and tosubmit a recommendation to the next Council meeting to beheld on 26 September 2019 and that prior to that it besubmitted to the September meetings of the Executive andOverview and Scrutiny Panel for comment; and7. That the Council takes steps to reinforce its Joint Local PlanPolicies in respect of wildlife and biodiversity through theSupplementary Planning Document to require developers todemonstrate biodiversity gain as part of any relevantplanning application so that there is a robust and consistentbasis to assess and secure meaningful biodiversityenhancements having regard to a mitigation hierarchy,namely to avoid impact first, provide mitigation where thereis unavoidable harm and, in the event that there is noalternative, provide compensatory measures as a lastresort

— Full Council (Source)