Climate Change Strategies and Action Plans
Climate Change Strategies and Action Plans
Climate emergency and net zero carbon targets
The Council announced that it is joining other authorities in declaring climate emergency and has adopted the net zero carbon targets for the Council’s operations by 2030 and for the borough to be carbon neutral by 2040. See the Climate emergency news page for further information.
The Council recognises that climate change is one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century and that we need to act on the causes and impacts of climate change. This is a significant step change in the way the Council operates and engages with residents and businesses on climate change.
The Council will be developing an ambitious action plan to to deliver the climate emergency commitment and the Council’s Vision Carbon Zero.
Air Quality and Climate Change Action Plan 2016 – 2021
After the Climate Change Strategy expired in 2015, the Council has decided to tackle the twin challenges of climate change and poor air quality together. Emissions of these air pollutants and greenhouses gases come from common sources such as vehicles, buildings, power generation and industry.
The Council is tackling the twin challenges of climate change and poor air quality together and has put in place a combined 2016-2021 Air Quality and Climate Change Action Plan (AQCCAP). Visit the Air Quality and Climate Change Action Plan 2016 - 2021 page.
The first step to deliver the net zero carbon targets and deliver the Council’s Vision Carbon Zero is to develop a bold and radical action plan which will be published in 2020. This will be included in a new updated Air Quality and Climate Change Action Plan.
The Air Quality and Climate Change Policy can be found in section 1 of the AQCCAP (page 4).
The Plan is a combination of measures aimed at reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and urban air pollutants. The key aspects of the Plan are:
- our aims and objectives for the period 2016–2021 to tackle poor air quality and climate change
- a list of actions to meet these aims and objectives which will be regularly updated, with completed actions being replaced by new ones throughout the Plan’s lifetime.
The Plan is supported by a series of appendices giving technical information.
Action Plan progress
To address poor air quality, the whole of the Royal Borough has been designated as an Air Quality Management Area since 2002. Consequently, the Council is obliged to publish and implement a plan of action to address the unacceptable levels of two key pollutants: nitrogen dioxide and fine particles. For more information see the Air Quality page.
The Council is also very concerned about the impacts of climate change, and in 2008 it produced its first seven-year Climate Change Strategy. This strategy demonstrated the Council’s leadership in reducing carbon emissions from its own operations and its ambitions to mitigate and adapt to climate change in the Royal Borough.
Climate change and air pollution are intimately connected, and therefore with the latest combined 2016-2021 Air Quality and Climate Change Action Plan we are joining up our approach to the same emission sources and developing holistic ways to take action to reduce emissions and their impacts. Both air pollution and climatic changes threaten our health and well-being.
The Council adopted in October 2019 the net zero carbon targets for the Council’s operations by 2030 and for the borough to be carbon neutral by 2040 and announced that is aligning with the other London boroughs in declaring climate emergency.
In January 2007, the Council signed the Nottingham Declaration on Climate Change. We adopted a Climate Change Strategy in 2008 and set up Climate Change Programme to reduce the Council’s carbon emissions.
The Council had an initial target to reduce carbon emissions 20 per cent by March 2014 and 40 per cent by March 2020 from a 2007/08 baseline level. In 2018/2019 the Council exceeded its initial 40% carbon reduction target and achieved a 50% carbon reduction compared to 2007/2008 (excluding the Housing stock/portfolio). Even though our emissions are just 1.8% of the borough’s total, the new net zero carbon target is going to take a total shift in how we operate.
For more information on the 40% target and the progress achieved, please visit the Carbon Performance page.