Plans to help Peterborough City Council become a net zero carbon authority have been supported by cabinet members.
A ‘Roadmap to Net Zero’ was endorsed by cabinet members at a meeting at Peterborough Town Hall yesterday (Tuesday) and will now go to full council for final adoption.
It details several actions that will help the council lower its carbon emissions such as by installing low carbon heating in buildings, switching vehicles to hydrotreated vegetable oil, and continuing to train staff on carbon literacy.
The strategy uses methodology detailed in the 2022-23 Carbon Footprint report to focus on emissions under the direct control of the council.
If implemented in full, actions laid out in the roadmap are estimated to reduce the council’s Carbon Footprint to 2,344 tonnes CO2e annually. This would amount to a 78% reduction in emissions compared to the 2018-19 baseline year and a 70% reduction in emissions compared to the most recently measured emissions in 2022-23.
Cllr Angus Ellis, Peterborough City Council's Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, said: “We are fully committed to lowering carbon emissions across the council and the Roadmap to Net Zero will play a key role in helping us achieve this, in turn producing widespread benefits for our communities.
“I’m delighted that we have already made some great progress such as by upgrading over 95 per cent of our street lighting to LED bulbs, resulting in 62 per cent lower energy use in 2022-23 compared to 2014. This is an ongoing priority for the council and we will continue to look at other ways to lower our emissions.”
Given the financial position of councils across the country, including Peterborough, funding for net zero projects will be carefully considered. Where possible, external grants will be sought in the first instance to cover or contribute to the costs of decarbonisation.
Where grants are unavailable or do not fully cover the costs of a decarbonisation project, loans will be considered. Loans to deliver projects that offer cost savings and other co-benefits will be considered ahead of projects which offer fewer other benefits.
All projects, regardless of funding routes, will be subject to a full business case separate to the Roadmap.
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