Oxford continues carbon emissions reduction
Oxford City Council achieved a 5% reduction in carbon emissions in 2022/23 with annual emissions for the local authority totalling 5,994 tCO2e.
The news from the council was from its annual Greenhouse Gas Emissions report, which measures the annual greenhouse gas emissions, including energy and water use, fuel used in fleets, and emissions associated with business travel.
The council has a target to become net zero carbon across its own operations by 2030, and, in order to achieve this, it aims to reduce emissions 10% each year against 2019/20 levels as a baseline.
The latest data covering the period of 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023 shows a 5% decrease in the council’s greenhouse gas emissions, when compared to 2021/2022 levels, dropping from 6,314 tonnes in 2021/22 to 5,994 tonnes in 2022/23.
Work on carbon reduction schemes includes the installation of heat pumps across four of its leisure sites in 2023, which are the council’s highest energy users. This work is expected to achieve a substantial drop in greenhouse gas emissions in next year’s 2023-24 annual GHG report.
The local authority is also continuing to utilise grants and schemes to enable carbon reduction measures to be installed across its other buildings and estate, such as five decarbonisation projects funded through the Salix Recycling Fund at council-owned community and leisure centres and depots which are to be complete by March 2025.
Councillor Anna Railton, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Zero Carbon Oxford, said:
“Alongside its work to reduce its own emissions, the Council is working closely with large businesses and organisations in the city as part of the Zero Carbon Oxford Partnership, including the universities, hospitals to tackle city-wide carbon emissions.
“We are pleased with the steady progress we have made in reducing our emissions, but we acknowledge the challenges ahead. We publish this annual data to be transparent and open about our journey to net zero and the work we are doing within our own organisation to address the climate emergency.
“Our commitment to achieving net zero by 2030 remains, and we are focusing on innovative projects and partnerships to accelerate our efforts.”
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