City continues to lead the way in cutting carbon
Tuesday 11 September 2012
For the second year running Coventry has appeared top of a league table of British cities for reducing its carbon footprint.
A new report by the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) shows the city cut its carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 16.5 per cent from 2005 to 2010 - well above the average 10 per cent reduction achieved by the top twenty cities in Britain.
Every year DECC works out the emissions of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, by looking at how much energy is used by industry and commerce, homes, and road transport - and then reports it by each council's area.
It showed that Coventry has reduced industrial emissions by 26 per cent, emissions from homes by 9 per cent and those from transport by 7 per cent. Many factors will have contributed to these reductions such as the increasing fuel efficiency of vehicles, smoother flows of traffic, improved insulation in homes meaning less energy needs to be used to keep them warm, as well as firms adopting more energy efficient methods.
Since 2008 the City Council and Coventry Partnership have worked to a Climate Change Strategy which has set challenging carbon reduction targets. The strategy was revised in March of this year and committed the city to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 34 per cent by 2020 and 80 per cent by 2050 against the 1990 baseline.
These recent figures from DECC confirm that the city is on course to achieve the 2020 target set by the Government.
Councillor Abdul Khan, Cabinet Member for Sustainability and Local Infrastructure said:
"It's great news that here in Coventry we are doing so well in reducing our carbon footprint. It shows that we're using energy more efficiently in our homes, workplaces, and in the ways we travel. It also sends a clear signal to investors who can see we are serious about being a sustainable location. Increasingly firms are asking about the sustainability credentials of an area before they relocate and this latest news confirms our track record and our ambition.
"I would also like to thank local people for the part they have played in being more energy aware - we couldn't have achieved this result without them."
Dr Simon Slater, Executive Director of Sustainability West Midlands said:
"Coventry is to be congratulated on not only making significant progress in the sustainable cities index of the top 20 UK cities, but also, as part of this, driving down carbon emissions, which equates to energy and tax savings for many organisations. These results are driven, not just by ongoing changes in the national economy, but through sustained and practical action by a compact, but determined city along with its partners. Coventry may not yet be widely perceived as a low carbon leader, but it is beginning to feel like one."
