Bucks Council releases climate change report showing significant progress in lowering emissions

Bucks Council has set up a number of projects designed to help its net zero mission

Bucks Council has released a new report analysing its response to the climate crisis.

Last week the authority released the findings from its third annual Climate Change and Air Quality Progress Report.

This report details how the council has introduced the policies it agreed to in 2021.

Councillor Thomas Broom said at a meeting: "The effects of climate change become ever more visible in our own experience and in what we hear and read on the news. This makes it even more important that we are able to present an update in our third annual progress report covering 12 months of activity from across the council.”

One key achievement the council announced was a 78% drop in net emissions for 2023/24 compared to baseline emissions from 1990. Bucks Council says it has achieved its goal of reducing emissions by 75% by 2030, five years ahead of schedule.

Bucks Council has also highlighted its tree planting scheme with almost 193,000 trees planted in the first three years of a 10-year plan.

The full published report can be found online here. Also, the authority has created a climate challenge website, which can be found here, advising residents on how to reduce their carbon emissions.

Bucks Council is allocating over £4.5m to air quality improvement work, with some of the funding coming from a central Government scheme. Councillor Broom noted that transport remains the biggest source of emissions in Buckinghamshire, followed by domestic sources. It is hoped that more residents will adopt sustainable transport methods.