Vale’s climate plan to cut council carbon emissions

Vale of White Horse District Council has taken its biggest step so far towards becoming carbon neutral within its own operations.

The Vale has adopted its new Climate Action Plan, which sets out the steps it will take to reduce its emissions as it aims to become carbon neutral by 2030. This means, thanks to the actions put in place, the carbon produced from the council’s buildings and services will be balanced by the amount removed from the atmosphere.

Tackling the climate emergency is a key priority for the district council and work will now be carried out to reduce emissions across the council’s services and buildings.  

The plan also outlines how the council will support local efforts to tackle the climate emergency, including a new Climate Action Fund to boost local projects, with £50,000 available from March.  Next week the council will consider its 2022/23 budget which includes the option to make £50,000 funding available on an ongoing basis for the next five years.    

New policies will help to deliver zero carbon development and work will take place to increase tree planting and to support partners across the county with renewable energy and green infrastructure projects.

The council’s Climate Action Plan, agreed by Cabinet members last week, follows significant work from officers and councillors, along with feedback from parish councils, local climate action groups and from the council’s Climate Emergency Advisory Committee.

The action plan was a specific commitment in the Vale’s Corporate Plan 2020-24. To ensure the council is open about the progress towards its targets, officers will carry out quarterly reviews and report to the Climate Emergency Advisory Committee and the Vale’s Cabinet.

Cllr Catherine Webber, Cabinet Member for Climate Emergency and Environment, at Vale of White Horse District Council, said: “I’m delighted that we’ve adopted the Climate Action Plan.  This puts us in a much better position to reduce our emissions and to achieve our carbon neutral targets.” 

“Cutting our emissions in this way will not only benefit the environment but should also lead to long term savings through reduced energy costs too.”

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To find out more about climate action in the Vale of White Horse, visit whitehorsedc.gov.uk/climateaction