Councils admit to ‘lagging behind’ on plans to reach net zero

TWO councils have admitted their districts are “lagging behind” on plans to reach net zero by 2045.

South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils said they needed an annual average reduction in carbon emissions in their areas of nine per cent between 2021 and 2025 to stay on track.

Vale has managed an average of just over three per cent reduction in annual emissions between 2019 and 2023 and South achieved five per cent over the same period.

Both authorities said they were “limited” in their ability to meet the target, as a large proportion of district-wide emissions are outside their control. The councils said they were still “well placed” to influence emissions reduction and had taken a number of steps over the past few years, including:

l Reducing the councils’ greenhouse gas emissions, including major decarbonisation projects at leisure centres.

l Installing electric vehicle charging bays.

l Providing funding to local organisations for energy efficiency initiatives and decarbonisation measures.

Reports for both councils said: “The rate of decarbonisation is accelerating slightly but is still lagging behind where it needs to be to reach net zero targets.” They also added that in the short term, planned local government reorganisation would “limit” some council activities to deliver reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

But both authorities said they would “continue to proactively look for opportunities to accelerate the rate of decarbonisation”.