Newcastle net zero progress 'impossible' to judge as 2030 target draws closer

Liberal Democrat members who sit on Newcastle City Council’s climate change committee say they have been left with “deep concern” about progress towards the net zero aim, due to a lack of information being published by the local authority.

Earlier this year, Newcastle passed the halfway mark between leaders declaring a climate emergency in April 2019 and the end of 2030, the date by which they pledged to reach net zero emissions.

But environmental campaigners have warned that more drastic action is needed on Tyneside if that ambition is going to become a reality, while growing frustrated by an absence of data on how much progress has been made so far and what still needs to be done.

The Labour-run council said this week that Newcastle had “come a long way since declaring a climate emergency and we’re heading in the right direction”, as it published its annual net zero progress report.

But civic centre bosses have been accused of a “lack of transparency” by the Lib Dems.

The opposition party said it was “alarming” that the newly-published report contains no detail on how much progress had been made against the 93 priority actions laid down in September 2020 to decarbonise the city.

That original plan included targets such as having solar panels installed on 30% of homes and having 40% of all commuters who currently use cars move onto low-emission buses.

The council said in February that city-wide carbon dioxide emissions had fallen by 10.31% between 2019 and 2022, but that no more recent data is available.

The Lib Dems have warned that monitoring the priority actions was “essential for evaluating our progress and ensuring we are on the right path to meet our 2030 target” and that it would be “impossible to ascertain whether we are on track to achieve our goals” without it.

They added: “This lack of transparency and specificity is a significant setback in our efforts to combat climate change effectively.”

They also complained that the new report had been published without being sent to the climate change committee for “critical” scrutiny beforehand, which the Lib Dems said “raises concerns about the accuracy and completeness of the information presented”.

Coun Gareth Kane, the party’s sustainability spokesperson, said: “If the Labour administration was serious about net zero, they would agree to our calls to make the climate change committee a full scrutiny committee so we could demand update reports come to committee first. What have they got to fear? As it stands, Labour are simply marking their own homework, which smacks of greenwash.”

The council said that 2024 saw it launch a new trial which collected more than 100 tonnes of household food waste, approve funding for the decarbonisation of Jesmond and Elswick’s swimming pools and other public buildings, and retain its top ‘A’ grade rating from the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP).

Labour councillor Juna Sathian, the council’s cabinet member for climate and transport, added: “While we recognise there is a long way to go and achieving net zero will require ongoing and scaled-up government support, we can see from our 2024 update that by working together with communities, businesses, public bodies and other stakeholders, there is the will and ability to create lasting change for the good of our planet.

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“I’m really pleased to see the progress that is being made against our priority actions that cover a range of interventions from tackling Newcastle’s biggest source of emissions, household energy emissions, to developing a citywide Movement Strategy and helping children and young people understand the future career opportunities available to them through green skills and industries.

“As a city we’ve come a long way since declaring a climate emergency and we’re heading in the right direction.”

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