Skip to content

Nottingham Labour

Labour’s Plan to make Nottingham Green

At January’s Full Council Nottingham Labour is unveiling our response to the climate crisis, reiterating our ambition to become the first carbon neutral city in the UK by 2028 and publishing a positive plan that tackles the environmental challenges we face in a way that improves the quality of life for local people.

Over the past two decades some Nottingham Labour has ensured our city is leading the rest of the country on this issue. that Nottingham met its Energy Strategy target early (a 26% reduction of carbon dioxide emissions against 2005 by 2020) with reductions of emissions by 39% since 2005, equivalent to 43% per person  Some of the actions we have already taken include:

  • Signing the Nottingham Declaration on Climate Change in 2000 with a follow up in 2011,
  • £15 million investment in one of the UK’s largest electric bus fleets
  • Developing and expanding the electric tram network
  • Improving cycling facilities, including bike hubs and a cycle hire scheme
  • Significant investment in cycle corridors
  • Introduction of the Workplace Parking Levy – tackling congestion and containing traffic growth, while generating funds to invest in public transport and
  • Installing solar panels on 4500 domestic properties across the city.

Whilst we rightly celebrate this success, it is just the beginning. . Together with city partners, we will be creating new Climate Change and Energy plans for the next decade, taking forward the ambitions of a locally responsible global city and turn words into actions. This will bring benefits such as reducing fuel poverty, improving the natural environment and air quality and providing sustainable jobs for the future

Following the launch of the citywide charter for sustainable carbon neutrality through the Green Partnership, the Council is now it is setting out a plan of action to help take the city towards carbon neutrality. This takes the same aim of addressing one of our most pressing environmental and climate challenges in a way that benefits the city and residents, improves quality of life and ensures nobody is excluded from the progress it will bring. In particular, Nottingham wants to develop and maximise the opportunities for local jobs and retaining the value of what’s need to be done within the city. Efforts are focused on five key areas:

  • Transport – Building on the city’s successful efforts so far to provide high-quality green public transport and to encourage take-up of low and no-emission vehicles.
  • The built environment – Adding to the 40,000 energy efficiency measures already in local homes and the roll-out of the pioneering Energiesprong scheme to create net zero carbon homes.
  • Energy generation – Going beyond the huge installation programme of solar panels on council buildings and homes and the council’s energy from waste operation by looking into anaerobic digestion, maximising the use of heat pumps that use water, air and the ground to heat our buildings and the possibility of expanding the city’s district heating network
  • Waste and water – Maximising the potential of the city’s waste disposal arrangements, which see over 90% reused, recycled, composted or used for energy recovery.
  • Consumption – Increasing local food production while reducing food waste and consumption of high carbon foods, by making city events more carbon neutral and tourism more sustainable, increasing the range of edible plants in public spaces and encouraging community gardens and hubs to grow and share food.

We all have a role to play in this, but we all have something to gain by finding more sustainable ways to live and work. This will bring benefits such as reducing fuel poverty, improving the natural environment and air quality and providing sustainable jobs for the future.

Read full report here.

Cllr Sally Longford,
Deputy Leader of Nottingham City Council,
Portfolio Holder for Energy & Environment and Democratic Services