Issue - meetings

The Director of City and Organisational Strategy referred the Committee to the report that had been circulated in advance of the meeting.  He advised the purpose of the report was to provide Members with information on the proposed Carbon Literacy Training.

He stated that the course was appropriate for all Councillors, whatever their political world view. By the end, elected members would understand the climate science that underpinned the action the Council had taken to speak confidently and knowledgeably on the subject. Most importantly, they would understand how to talk about the climate crisis in a way that resonates with their voter base, and in a way that is authentic to their own political position.

The training would cover climate change, carbon footprints, how every person could do their bit, and how this topic related to Elected Members and ratepayers. An Elected Members’ Toolkit provided during and after the training had been designed to equip Councillors with the information they would need to mobilise change within their constituency and to communicate climate change effectively to hard-to-reach groups.

A full day was required to complete the training. This would be condensed slightly if completed remotely. It was proposed the training would be delivered via MS Teams on Thursday 12th January from 5.30 pm to 8.30 pm, and on Saturday 14th January from 9.00 am to 12.30 pm. The training would be interactive throughout and would be followed by a short exercise to complete. Following successful completion of the training and exercise, a Carbon Literate Certificate would be provided in a digital format. The training provider, Climate NI, were delivering the training as part of the Carbon Literacy Project.

The Committee agreed attendance on the proposed training dates.