City Council’s statutory Climate Change Report shows progress on carbon emission targets
29 October 2020
Aberdeen City Council’s City Growth and Resources Committee yesterday approved the authority’s statutory annual Climate Change Report which shows substantial reduction in the city’s carbon emissions.
The Report will be published to the Scottish Government on 30 November. The Committee also confirmed a preferred option for carbon budgeting to support the aims of a net zero reduction in carbon emission by 2045.
The Report showed that in the period from 2014/15 to 2019/20 carbon emissions in the city have reduced from 44,993 tCO2e in the first year to 30,563 tCO2e in the current reporting year
The 2019 / 20 Report is a statutory duty Aberdeen City Council has in common with all other public sector organisations under the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 to report annually to the Scottish Govt on progress on:
· To reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions (mitigation)
· To adapt to the impacts of a changing climate (adaptation)
· To have sustainable development as a core value (acting sustainably)
The report is published against the backdrop of the Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Act 2019 which has set a net zero emissions reduction target by 2045 and Aberdeen City Council’s ow commitment to emissions reduction targets of 50% by 2030 as set out in the Aberdeen Sustainable Energy Action Plan – Powering Aberdeen,
This commitment is further underlined in the Aberdeen Local Outcome Improvement Plan (LOIP) which commits to reducing carbon emissions to address climate change.
Committee Convener and Council Co Leader, Councillor Douglas Lumsden, said: “This important Report underlines our commitment to tackling and adapting to climate change through innovations such as our strategic partnerships to diversify our energy sector economy, the introduction of a hydrogen bus fleet, a sustainable house building programme, charging points for electric vehicles and our revamp of waste management services.
“I commend this report and would reaffirm Aberdeen City Council’s commitment to being a buoyant city playing a leading role in reducing negative environmental impacts through imaginative approaches”.