Nottingham has the lowest carbon emissions of all of England’s largest cities, according to latest Government figures.

The Department for Energy and Climate Change DECC recently released carbon emissions data confirming Nottingham’s continued year on year reduction in carbon emissions since 2005. Overall our carbon emissions total has fallen by 21%. We are now producing two tonnes less a year per person than we were in 2005.

In comparison to the other Core Cities, the large cities outside London, Nottingham has achieved the highest reduction in carbon emissions of all and has the lowest total carbon emissions. There has been an ambitious 2020 target set by Nottingham to reduce our carbon emissions by 26%, the city is looking well placed to meet this.

Councillor Alan Clark, Nottingham City Council’s Portfolio Holder for Energy and Sustainability, said: “Nottingham is at the forefront of sustainability awareness and these latest figures maintain the city’s position as the UK’s most energy self-sufficient city. There has been a real move towards sustainability in the city with a wide range of organisations in the public, private and voluntary sectors carrying out vital work to reduce our environmental impact. These figures are a fantastic recognition of the efforts across the city to achieve this aim.

“Reducing the amount of energy we use in our homes has a huge impact on carbon emissions and our energy bills. To help achieve this, Nottingham City Council has instigated over 40,000 energy efficiency interventions for Nottingham homes including external wall insulation, loft insulation and solar panels. The emissions data reveals there has been an 18% reduction in domestic emissions so a change in home energy usage is clearly having a positive effect.”

Councillor Nick McDonald, Portfolio Holder for Jobs, Growth and Transport added: “A significant part of this reduction – around 13% – is due to the increased take-up of public and active transport options in Nottingham, particularly the introduction of Europe’s largest fleet of electric buses. Through the Local Sustainable Travel Fund and other funding we have brought into the city we are also encouraging more people to choose walking and cycling as their preferred travel choice. The first phase of the £6.1m Cycle City cycle route development is currently underway, which will encourage even more people to leave the car at home. Our popular tram system is soon to open services to other parts of the conurbation, providing a clean transport option where it runs. The net result is that we are improving the environment and encouraging greener business growth at the same time, which is good news for the city as a whole.”

Richard Barlow Chair of the City’s Green Partnership welcomed the emissions data: “These emissions figures are very encouraging and a great tribute to the progress which is being made across the city. We all have our part to play in reducing carbon emissions and there remains a great deal for us all to do. As the economy picks up we would particularly like businesses in Nottingham to commit to greener measures by inspiring colleagues and customers to reduce their carbon use and investing to become more efficient and lower their carbon footprint.”

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For further information please contact Ruth Stallwood, Nottingham City Council Communications Team, on 0115 876 2900or by email at ruth.stallwood@nottinghamcity.gov.uk

Green city

Nottingham is leading the UK in a number of key green energy areas and has positioned itself as a strong contender with other leading European ‘low energy’ cities.  It is the UK’s most energy self-sufficient city and is one of the UK’s four “Low Carbon Pioneer Cities.” Nottingham is set to meets its 2020 targets for reducing carbon emissions by 26% since 2005, its current reduction stands at 21%.  This equates to a £35m saving across the city in energy bills. Almost 15% of the energy used in the city comes from low carbon or zero carbon sources.

Nottingham has the biggest energy from waste district heating network in the UK, this avoids the disposal of waste to landfill and produces energy for around 4,8000 houses and 100 commercial buildings.  Prominent buildings in the city including the Ice Arena, Nottingham Trent University and two large shopping centres receive their energy requirements from this low carbon system.

Over 40,000 social and private homes have benefitted from energy efficiency interventions, including:

  • Solar panels – Over 3000 social housing houses have solar panels and the city has just announced plans to expand this to a further 3000
  • Thousands of homes have received Solid and External Wall Cladding schemes – The Clifton area has the largest external wall cladding scheme in Europe, around 4,000 houses.

There is an active programme in the city to deliver solar panels across commercial and public buildings, with the Nottingham Tennis Centre having the largest solar panel installation on a public or commercial building.

There is an active Clean Tech business network within the city, an area of growth and innovation for Nottingham.

Transport Green Measures – reducing CO2 and congestion for the city and to increase public transport uptake:

  • Award winning fully electric tram network
  • One of the largest electric bus fleets in Europe.
  • Citycard Cycle scheme – aims to increase cycling and make commuting easier
  • A raft of measures to encourage the growth of low carbon transportation such as electric car usages for businesses and private owners.

There are currently 45 electric buses (another 13 are due to be delivered next year, bringing the fleet up to 58 vehicles) on the Linkbus network. The Linkbus network consists of 32 routes which plug the gaps in the commercial network. 10 of these routes are operated using electric vehicles. The Linkbus network attracts 5.2 million passengers per year