Councils not on track to meet their own net zero targets
Half of UK councils are not confident of meeting self-imposed net zero targets, a new survey has found, with senior figures in local government saying they doubt their authorities are on track to meet them.
The research from E.ON and the Local Government Chronicle (LGC) gathered the views of chief executives and director-level officers at authorities to illuminate the attitudes and aspirations of senior figures on net zero targets and what can be done to help communities lead greener lives.
Fewer than half of those questioned (47 per cent) agreed with the statement ‘I am confident my council is on track to deliver against its net zero targets’, despite the fact almost nine in ten (87 per cent) who said their council had set a deadline for its own operations to become net zero. Three quarters (75 per cent) said their councils had also set a date for their geographical areas to achieve the same.
Most respondents (64 per cent), whose councils had set a target date for their own operations to become net zero, said 2030 was the target date, with only 7 per cent naming a shorter timescale. The latest date given was 2050, chosen by 12 per cent.
When asked about their wider geographical area, councils said they were allowing more time to meet net zero goals. Just under half (47 per cent) said their council was aiming for 2030 at the earliest, and almost a quarter (24%) said their council was aiming for 2050, in line with the UK government’s target.
When it comes to delivering exact changes to reach net zero, the survey found:
• An overwhelming 92 per cent agree all new build housing should be built to a net zero standard.
• Heat pumps are a sustainable solution to reducing fuel poverty and combating the climate crisis (58 per cent)
• Better energy efficiency is the single most important measure for making progress towards net zero.
The top five measures to reach net zero were:
• Better energy efficiency, such as better insulation of existing properties – 8.6 / 10
• EV infrastructure – 8.1 /10
• Solar panels – 7.5 /10
• Heat pumps – 7 /10
• District heating – 5.2 /10
Commenting on the findings, chief executive of E.ON UK Michael Lewis said: “Councils are responsible for decisions that can drive decarbonisation across whole communities, which puts them at the sharp end of achieving net zero by 2050. It’s great to see an ambition to create a greener future but there will be concern confidence is fairly low in whether our local authorities can achieve these ambitions.
“Our survey shows what’s lacking are the next steps in exactly how we get to a low carbon society. That starts with improving the energy efficiency of existing homes, swapping gas boilers for heat pumps, developing a greater role for district heating schemes in urban areas, and inspiring people to switch from petrol and diesel to electric vehicles.
“For future developments these technologies should all come as standard, mandated through the planning process, so all new homes are built to a net zero standard – an approach advocated by more than nine in ten of our survey panel.”
