Sefton Council continues its march towards net zero carbon by 2030

Sefton Council confirms it is on track to be net zero carbon by 2030 after it submitted its Climate Emergency Annual Report to cabinet, confirming a 13% reduction in total emissions from the baseline, rising to 28% once projects started this year are complete.

The fall was partly driven by staff continuing to work in an agile way. Staff emissions generated at home are included in our calculations but staff related emissions are significantly lower as fewer staff commute in to offices.

Additionally, the street lighting LED replacement project has already saved a whopping 812 thousand kwh electricity…. Which is enough to power 262 homes for a year!

Some projects started this year will soon start to result in carbon savings including a 59tCO2 saving from the retrofit of Southport and Bootle town halls and the green electricity contract due to start in April 2023, which alongside the project above will result in a 55% carbon saving from the baseline.

The 2030 target, which was set out in Sefton Council’s Climate Emergency declaration in 2019, is ambitious but critical to preventing further damage to the climate. All Council decision making reports now have to consider climate implications and training has been developed for all staff to ensure that all areas of the Council are on board with this ambitious but necessary work.

Cllr Paulette Lappin, Cabinet Member for Regulatory and Corporate Services said:

“I am delighted to see that we continue to make progress towards our 2030 net zero target. It is testament to the hard work of everyone at the Council to have seen so many projects in the pipeline that contributes to the reduction in our carbon footprint and it’s great to see we are still on track to reach that critical date of net zero carbon by 2030.

“We have continued to take positive from the pandemic in terms of the way we work and ensuring our impact on our climate is as small as we can make it.

“A 28% reduction in emissions when this year’s projects have been completed is so encouraging and I hope we can keep up the momentum as we move into 2023 and start to be powered by green electricity.”

You can find further information on Sefton’s Climate Emergency progress at Sefton Council’s website