Shropshire Council reports one per cent fall in carbon emissions - against 10 per cent target

Shropshire Council has seen a decrease in its carbon emissions in the last year, according to a report.

File photo dated 10/01/07 of Eggborough Power Station, a coal fired plant near Selby. The Government's energy legislation has come under pressure from a senior Tory who wants it to include targets to slash emissions from the power sector. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Tuesday December 18, 2012. Tim Yeo, chairman of the cross-party parliamentary Energy and Climate Change Committee, said he will seek to amend the recently published Energy Bill to include a target to decarbonise electricity generation by 2030. See PA story ENVIRONMENT Energy. Photo credit should read: John Giles/PA Wire.

However, the Corporate Carbon Performance Monitoring Report 2022, due before Cabinet next Wednesday shows the fall in emissions over 12 months was just one per cent, against the council's target of 10 per cent year on year, although it cautions that carbon monitoring has been influenced significantly by the coronavirus pandemic.

The report follows Shropshire Council’s switch to green energy suppliers in 2020, which resulted in a 100 per cent reduction in its carbon footprint for electricity.

The council, which declared a climate emergency in May 2019, and adopted a climate strategy and action plan in December 2020, wants to hit net zero by 2030.

Ian Nellins, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for climate change, environment and transport, said the one per cent fall was a "positive step".

He said: “While a one per cent decrease may be seen as disappointing against our target of 10 per cent year on year, it is still a positive step towards our determination to reduce carbon emissions and achieve net zero by 2030.

“We are committed to achieving our net zero goal, but it will take time, and the decline will not be linear. We have made progress and have made sure to act on the obvious solutions first. Switching to renewable electricity gave us a huge reduction and that will carry forward, but we must continue to pursue other strategies.

“The last three years have affected everyone; how we deliver services is evolving, and that too will influence the figures. Commissioned and outsourced services have contributed to the total, and we are developing a more consistent measuring framework to support accurate data collection as part of our action plan, and this will also give us a consistent method of measuring and managing our emissions.”

To achieve net zero, the council has already completed a wide range of actions, projects and initiatives, and more are in progress or are planned for future years.

These include developing the county’s electric vehicle charging structure, retro-fitting council-owned buildings to make them more energy efficient, staff training, advice for businesses and residents, the community tree scheme, and developing renewable energy solutions such as the Maesbury Road solar farm in Oswestry.

There are also long-term ambitious plans to develop a community heat network in north Shrewsbury.

Councillor Nellins added: "It is worth noting that Shropshire Council is one of only a few councils to report the full extent of its carbon emissions, including indirect emissions, and we want to remain open to scrutiny as we progress.

“A number of projects and initiatives which will help to reduce corporate carbon emissions are still being developed and have yet to deliver planned savings, but I am confident we are heading in the right direction.”