Council working hard to reduce carbon emissions in Exeter

Published: 12 August 2021

Exeter City Council is continuing to make good progress on its ambition to become Net Zero Carbon by 2030.

The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) this week released a report highlighting how human activity is changing the climate in unprecedented and sometimes irreversible ways.

The report is the first major review of the science of climate change since 2013, and comes less than three months before a key climate summit in Glasgow known as COP26.

The Council has been on a journey to reduce its carbon emissions for more than a decade.

Since 2012 there has been a 39% cut in total energy consumption, and a 28% cut in carbon emissions. The Council has achieved a 34% reduction in transport carbon emissions by switching to an electric fleet.

It currently has a solar PV estate of more than 2MW - the 1.5MW solar installation at the Livestock Centre produces enough renewable energy every year to power 180 homes.

A City Solar Farm made up of 3,700 solar panels creating a further 1.2MW array is about to begin construction in Marsh Barton.

It features a substantial battery storage capacity to provide flexibility between peak generation and peak usage, and will power the Council’s fleet of vehicles.

Cllr Rachel Sutton, Lead Councillor for Net Zero Exeter 2030, said Exeter had a proud record of cutting carbon emissions and introducing energy saving measures over the last decade.

She said: “We are committed to becoming Net Zero Carbon and as a local authority we have been making good progress over many years.

“Although we are proud of our record we are under no illusions about the size of the task ahead and there is much more to be done. We need other organisations, businesses and residents right across the city to commit to cutting their carbon footprint – even small actions can make a big difference.”

The Council has introduced a range of measures to help tackle climate change, including:

• Developing a Net Zero Carbon Exeter 2030 roadmap
• Protecting green spaces from development and encouraging biodiversity
• Creating solar canopy arrays on top of multi-storey car parks - five city centre car parks have free electric vehicle charging points
• Constructing new buildings to the low-energy Passivhaus standard - including new homes as well as the UK’s first Passivhaus leisure centre and care facility
• Planting 10,000 trees planted between 2010 and 2000
• Working with partners to produce a county-wide electric vehicle network

In November, the UK will host the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, bringing together over 190 world leaders to agree urgent action to tackle climate change.

In the run-up to COP26, the Government will be working with 26 #OneStepGreener Ambassadors – citizens who are going above and beyond for the climate. The Ambassadors will become the voice of the UK public on climate change and will work closely with the government in the lead up to COP26.

To apply or nominate someone to be a #OneStepGreener Ambassador complete the application form: https://together-for-our-planet.ukcop26.org/onestepgreener/