Derbyshire councils respond to claims by climate campaigners that they are not doing enough to reduce greenhouse emissions

Derby Climate Coalition and Derbyshire Climate Coalition have analysed the latest statistics for greenhouse gas emissions by local authority areas which show that Derbyshire’s total emissions have only reduced by 26% between 2005 and 2022.

Convenor of Derby Climate Coalition, Peter Robinson said: “We face the greatest predicament humankind has confronted: the erosion and possible collapse of our life-support systems. Its speed and scale have taken even scientists by surprise. The potential impacts are greater than any recent pandemic, or any war we have suffered. Yet the effort to persuade people of the need for action has been left almost entirely to either the private or voluntary sectors. And it simply does not work.”

The groups have also pointed out that the reduction in emissions since 2005 has been largely due to the decarbonisation of the electricity grid and the reduction of manufacturing, plus a greater dependence on imports.

The statistics which can be found on Gov.Uk also stated the percentage change of emissions of both CO2 and CO2e between 2005 and 2022 in different council wards across the country. The statistics show that several Derbyshire wards fall far below the national average for reductions in CO2 and CO2e emissions between that period which stand at -43% and -42.7% respectively.

The two climate coalitions argue that the responsibility to reduce carbon footprint lies not only with individual residents but also with policy makers and Government to give a lead.

One of the Derbyshire council wards with the lowest percentage change in emissions is High Peak.

The area has seen a drop of just -10.5% in CO2e and 26% of CO2 between 2005 and 2022.

In response to the claims made by the climate coalitions, Jean Todd, Executive Councillor for Climate Change and Environment at High Peak Borough Council said: “Since declaring a climate emergency the Council has taken a number of steps to help decrease its carbon emissions. We’re also working with community groups across the borough to mutually support initiatives to decrease carbon emissions and to develop strategies to enhance biodiversity.

“The High Peak borough emissions are high owing to the industrial nature of the area which includes quarries and cement works, as shown in the attached chart. It shows that industry produces almost 80% of the emissions.”

The ward of Bolsover District Council was another area that has seen a low percentage changes to both CO2 and CO2e at -35% and -20.4% respectively.

Bolsover District Council said they are attempting to tackle the issue of their carbon footprint by recently employing a Carbon Reduction officer.

A spokesperson for the council said: “As an authority we are committed to doing all we can to reduce the carbon footprint in the area and have recently employed a Carbon Reduction Officer to look at how we can achieve this and are in the process of implementing several projects that will help to reduce the CO2 and CO2e emissions across the area.

“The figures contained in the report represent the geographical area of Bolsover District and not the district council, so for a large part of this we have no control over them. We have some large industrial and commercial works in our district that significantly contribute to these figures and we have some major roads (M1 and A38) that run through the area, but there must be a balance in terms of economic prosperity with environmental sustainability.”

The Derbyshire Dales was an area that was also highlighted as having a lower percentage change to both CO2 and CO2e at -35% and -28.1% respectively.

The council declared a climate emergency in 2019 and said they had done a lot of work to make their organisation “greener”.

A DDDC spokesperson said: “The figures quoted by Derbyshire Climate Coalition refer to our area generally - not buildings and vehicles in the council's control - and the numbers are inflated by high agricultural land use. This is a product of the Derbyshire Dales being a large rural district. However, figures released earlier this year show that we have reduced emissions from our own buildings and vehicles by 30% in the past four years. We still have some way to go to hit our net zero target in 2030, but the progress is encouraging.

"Our carbon footprint is directly linked to the amount of fossil fuels we use, and, following the installation of heat pumps at Matlock Town Hall and new electric heating in parts of the ABC last year, we have seen a 43% decrease in gas use in the Council’s buildings.

"Making great use of external funding that is available to all councils, we’re continuing to install solar panels on our buildings. The new panels at the ABC are doing a great job, producing more than 115kWh of our own ‘green’ electricity last year – enough to power 32 local homes. We are also continuing to draw on funding to help local homeowners improve their energy efficiency through measures such as solar panels, heat pumps and external wall insulation.”

Both Derby Climate Coalition and Derbyshire Climate Coalition have argued that the public, managers of industry and elected politicians need to all be made more aware of the enormity of the climate crisis.

Professor Michael Corcoran, who did the analysis for both groups said: “Very little has been accomplished in improving efficiency in the use of energy. It has been a lost decade in this respect. There’s a limit to what can be achieved in reducing emissions on the supply side. Failure to address demand will inevitably result in emission targets being missed. It is hoped that making this data more accessible will empower communities in bringing their concerns to the attention of decision makers.”