Councillors celebrate progress towards Net Zero goals.

An update to Newcastle’s Climate Change Committee highlighted the progress the city has made towards its ambitious NetZero target.

Updating on their Net Zero Action Plan, Newcastle City Council officers reported on the 42 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions since 2005. They also reported how the city council had reduced their own emissions across their estate by a massive 65 per cent in just ten years.

Councillors were told the commitment to be NetZero has seen 30 key buildings de-carbonised while infrastructure had improved the energy efficiency of 346 homes. The council has also overseen the planting of 8,500 trees and 657 metres of hedgerow over just 12 months, with thousands more planned in the year ahead. Thursday’s committee at Newcastle Civic Centre also heard how initiatives such as pop-up waste collections have led to a staggering 26 tonnes of rubbish being recycled.

Cllr Marion Williams, Cabinet Member for a Connected, Clean City, said: “We are all becoming more aware of the impacts of climate change, but I don’t think we have truly woken up to the risks we face.
“Severe weather events should give us an indication of what awaits us, and we need to ask ourselves what kind of legacy we will leave for our children and grandchildren.
“Delivering on our Net Zero commitment is a key, core priority for the city and I am really pleased with the progress we are making towards this ambitious goal.
“This latest update highlights the breadth of work we are doing to improve our impact on the environment across a wide range of sectors.
“We will continue to bid for funding, invest in infrastructure, support community initiatives and change our own behaviours to make the future for Newcastle greener, cleaner, and healthier.”

During the last year the council has successfully secured over £37 million to decarbonise and add eco upgrades such as heat pumps and solar panels to key buildings, including 15 schools, the Discovery Museum, Gosforth and East End pools.
Residents have also benefitted from retrofit upgrades to make their homes warmer and more energy efficient via a £1.2 million investment, with a further £4.2 million secured to help more people take advantage of these improvements.

The action plan presents examples of how this work has been supported by the local community with over 6,000 residents and volunteers as well as 2,000 children from 8 schools taking part in the collection of 1,600 bags of litter in the last year.
It is that kind of work that has seen Newcastle retain an ‘A’ grade rating from the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) for the fourth year in a row. The city is one of just 119 worldwide to receive the rating.

Cllr Williams says the council’s proactive approach to tackling the climate emergency is not just a positive step for our health, but for the regional economy too.

She said: “Net Zero is one of our administration’s key priorities, another is to build an inclusive economy and the growth of ‘green jobs’ can be a big part of that.
“We want to invest in infrastructure and skills so that young people growing up in the city can help grow our green economy.
“It will create job opportunities, economic growth and ultimately lead to a more prosperous city which we can all benefit from.

Read the Action Plan update