Council to be carbon neutral by 2030

The challenging target is set to affect all areas of council operation and make sure it can meet government targets in place for the middle of the century.

Council operations currently output more than 10,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases after taking steps to make initial reductions.

The measures will not only reduce the amount of carbon emissions further but also includes measures which will offset emissions.

Reducing carbon emissions will support improvements in air quality and reduce public health costs within the borough.

The reductions will also lead to financial savings.

There have already been successes in the previous Carbon Management Plan, 2015-20, which oversaw a 32.5% reduction in CO2e emissions by 2018/19, relative to the baseline of 2013/14.

In addition the Upton Court Park Jubilee Wood has already drawn 11 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere as saplings. This is set to accelerate significantly as the trees mature, to 700 tonnes after 25 years and 1300 after 50 years.

The full council passed the Carbon Management Plan, 2020-2030, last month.

The four main objectives are to achieve

• A 10% reduction of CO2e net emissions per annum of all Council operations by 2029/30, relative to 2018/19
• A 100% reduction of CO2e net emissions by 2029/30 against the 2018/19 baseline
• A reduction of 10.5 tonnes CO2e to 0 tonnes per Full Time Equivalent Employee (FTE) by 2029/30
• A revenue saving of 10% over lifetime of the plan against 2018/19 baseline operating costs for the Council.

Cllr Rob Anderson, cabinet member for sustainable transport and environmental services, said: “This is a hugely ambitious but essential target to achieve. In order to achieve it the council will need to eliminate carbon emissions from its built assets, vehicles and procured services.

“Over the last decade we have more than halved our carbon emissions.

“This reduction means we have already made substantial progress to the goal of eliminating the council’s ongoing contribution to climate change, which shows we are capable of great change and stands us in good stead for this even more challenging target.”

The plan will affect all assets where the council pays for the energy and water costs. This includes corporate offices, community centre and hubs, libraries, Chalvey Waste Depot, council car parks, the crematorium and schools where the council has a hand in their management. It also includes transport used for council operations including waste and recycling lorries, street lighting, traffic lights, and contractors who provide goods and services to the council.

The UK government passed the Climate Change Act 2008 making it the world’s first long term legally binding framework. The Act introduced the target of reducing UK emissions by 80% by

2050, compared to a 1990 baseline. In June this year it furthered its commitment to decarbonisation by extending the target to Net Zero by 2050. This made the UK the first major economy in the world to pass laws to end its contribution to global warming by 2050.

The Carbon Management Plan 2020-2030 can be found in full here.