Tuesday 22 January 2019
Nottingham City Council has unveiled its ambitious plan to become the first carbon neutral city in the UK by 2028.
It has already achieved its 2020 Energy Strategy goal of cutting carbon emissions by 26%, with a 39% reduction since 2005.
The council says the city is also on track to meet its target of generating 20% of its energy from low carbon sources by the end of this decade.
Some of the projects implemented so far include investing in one of the UK's largest electric bus fleets as well as biogas and retrofitted buses, developing and expanding the tram network that runs on renewable power, improving cycling facilities, installing solar panels on 4,500 domestic properties and retrofitting 400 homes with energy efficient measures.
Cllr Sally Longford, Portfolio Holder for Energy & Environment said: “We have been making good progress for a long time but it is incumbent on us to do more. We are already seeing the effects of climate change with 650 extra deaths nationally last year because of the heatwave. In Nottingham, we have 10,000 properties that are vulnerable to surface water flooding which will increase as the effects of climate change worsen.
“We need a shift in the way we produce and use energy, more sustainable management of waste and ways to travel and to look at things like shortening supply chains by buying goods and services locally. We are looking at a range of schemes that involve innovative technology, such as installing large batteries that can store solar energy – initially at council premises but also exploring this for domestic properties too. There will also be things we will be asking local people to do, to help us to achieve our aim of becoming a carbon neutral city by 2028 – we're sure that like us they will rise to the challenge.”