A report presenting the Committee with Annual Reports on two key initiatives within Reading’s response to the Climate Emergency

The Executive Director of Economic Growth and Neighbourhood Services submitted a report presenting the Committee with Annual Reports on two key initiatives within Reading’s response to the Climate Emergency.  The Annual Report on the Reading Climate Emergency Strategy 2020-25 for the year 2020/21 was attached to the report at Appendix 1 and the Annual Report on the Council’s corporate Greenhouse Gas Emissions (for the year 2020/21) was attached to the report at Appendix 2.

The report explained that the Annual Report on the Reading Climate Emergency Strategy 2020-25 for the year 2020/21 had bee produced by the Reading Climate Change Partnership and reflected activity by a range of partners across Reading, not just the Council.  The headline message from the Annual Report was that the Borough’s carbon footprint had fallen by 49% between 2005 and 2019 (the latest year for which data was available).  The represented the fifth largest reduction of 379 local authorities.  The report also reviewed progress with the seven action planes that were included within the Strategy.  This suggested that of almost 150 action approximately 30% had been rated ‘green’ (completed or on target), 50% amber (underway but not complete/not on target) and 20% red (not started).  In the context of the disruption that had arisen from the pandemic, this was considered a notable achievement in the first year since the publication of the Strategy.

The Annual Report on the Council’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions had been produced annually by the Council since 2008/09 to record progress with the implementation of the Council’s carbon reduction efforts and its publication meet the Council’s obligations to report transparently on corporate emissions in-line with greenhouse gas emissions reporting protocols of local authorities.  The headline message from the report was that the Council’s carbon footprint had been cut by 69.8% between 2008/09 and 2020/21; 2020 had represented a significant reduction in a single year with the closure of offices and public facing facilities during the pandemic being a significant factor in the reduction.  The Council’s corporate emissions now represented less than 1.5% of the total emissions for the Borough as a whole. 

With regard to progress in relation to ‘net zero by 2030 targets, while emission reductions that had been recorded in both annual reports were very welcome, they had to be considered in relation to the very ambitious aim that had been set by Reading’s Climate Emergency Declaration to a achiever a net zero Reading by 2030.  Although the 2% reduction in Reading’s carbon footprint between 2018 and 2019 was encouraging, in broad terms the rate of emission reduction would need to be approximately double in each remaining year of the decade to be on track to meet the 2030 target.  There was a risk of emissions bouncing back in 2021/22 as pandemic restrictions on services such as leisure centres, theatres and libraries had lifted, which might be reflected in the next annual report.  The reductions for the Borough and the Council should not therefore be a cause for complacency and continued sustained effort would be required to increase the rate of emissions reduction between now and 2030.

Finally, the report set out the key factors that had driven the reduction in the Council’s carbon footprint.

Resolved –

That the following be noted:

(a)     The continued reduction in Reading Borough’s carbon footprint, which had fallen by 49% since the baseline year of 2005;

(b)     The continued reduction in Reading Borough Council’s carbon footprint, which had fallen by 69.8%since the baseline year of 2008/09;

(c)      The need for the Council and other partners to redouble efforts to meet the very challenging target of a net zero carbon Reading, and a net zero carbon Council, by 2030.