Councils ‘could cut emissions by a third’

05 December 2007

Councils could help cut carbon emissions by up to one-third by 2020 through a number of measures such as ‘greening’ their fleets and re-tendering existing contracts, according to a new report by the Local Government Association.

The A change of climate report shows that if all councils made their buildings and vehicle fleets carbon neutral, they would be able to save 5.5Mt a year. By working with their local residents and private, public and voluntary organisations, in every area of the country, councils could help increase these reductions 30-fold to around 150Mt a year.

The Government has set a national target of a 32% reduction in carbon emissions by 2020. Published by the LGA’s independent climate change commission, the report warns that if some councils fail to respond to climate change in the next two years, then central government should legislate to ensure they take action to tackle global warming.

Councils can reduce transport-related emissions by greening their own fleet, encouraging low transport emissions from suppliers, and ensuring that local area planning promotes walking, cycling and the use of public transport.

The report also recommends that councils tender and re-tender for new and existing services, with every council working towards ‘no increase in carbon’ when tendering for new contracts. Each purchase and investment, a total of almost £70bn a year, should reduce the carbon impact of the existing or replaced service.

It also calls for an adjustment to Treasury rules to allow ‘capitalisation’ of smarter-choice transport measures. This accounting adjustment would allow such measures to compete on a field with infrastructure projects.

Chairman of the commission, Professor John Chesshire, said: ‘Over the next two years, there must be a significant and measurable improvement in the local government response to climate change. ‘Within the new Local Area Agreements, and across their roles and operations, local government and its partners must show much a stronger commitment to reducing their carbon footprint and dealing with more extreme weather.'

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Councils ‘could cut emissions by a third’

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