Carbon Neutral 2030 - Council Strategy

Information about energy and carbon and the impact that this has on climate change and the positive changes you can make to make a difference.

Carbon and Climate Change

Our World is getting warmer, 2019 was Europe’s warmest year on record. This temperature rise can be attributed to the amount of carbon (and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere) arising from human activities, such as heating our

homes, buying goods and travel. These gases trap the heat from the sun, increasing the average temperature of the earth, which in turn causes more frequent and extreme weather events such as heatwaves and heavy downpours.

To see in detail how climate change might affect the area you live the Met Office and the BBC have created a post code checker.

What is Rushcliffe Borough Council doing?

In March 2020, Rushcliffe Borough Council made a commitment to work towards becoming carbon neutral by 2030 for its own operations. The Council is also committed to supporting local residents and businesses reduce their own carbon footprint.

Rushcliffe Borough Council’s Climate Change Strategy is currently being reviewed and updated. The strategy’s supporting Carbon Management Plan can be viewed under the related documents tab on the right-hand side.

What does it mean to be Carbon Neutral?

Carbon Neutrality refers to achieving an overall balance between emissions and emissions taken out of the atmosphere.

Rushcliffe Borough Council has tracked its own emissions of carbon gases since 2008/09 and taken action to reduce them, our progress is shown below (please note that weather effects the amount of carbon emitted leading to some variability, but overall emission are decreasing).

How you can help?

In 2018 the UK generated 5.2* tonnes of Greenhouse Gas emissions per person. (BEIS - Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy online at UK local authority and regional carbon dioxide emissions national statistics: 2005 to 2018 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)). In Rushcliffe during that same year, residents and businesses generated 6.2 tonnes of Greenhouse Gas emissions per person, 1 tonne more than the UK average (the equivalent of each resident driving approx. 15,400 miles per year) - Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator | Energy and the Environment | US EPA.

Whether its walking instead of driving, shopping locally or installing a water butt in your garden, there are lots of small changes we can all make. These will all add up to make a big difference! Why not make a pledge and make one small change today?

For more information:

Documents to download

Carbon Neutral 2030