RBWM are falling short of net-zero targets laid out as the guideline for local authorities across England, but that isn’t due to a lack of effort.
In 2019, the Borough called a Climate Emergency, putting in new plans and initiatives to reach the goal of being a carbon neutral borough by 2050.
Councillor Davies said that, “Using the Tyndall Centre’s Trajectory for carbon reductions, we need to achieve a 13.1% reduction each year.” That amount of slimming down would require a gargantuan effort, and quite frankly as acknowledged by Councillor Davies, isn’t achievable at this moment in time.
However this is not to say that the Borough’s progress is unsatisfactory, as from 2018-2021, “We saw the largest carbon emission reductions of all authorities in Berkshire- an 11.2% decrease from 683.2 ktonnesCO2 to 606.2 ktonnesCO2.” A laudable effort from the Borough.
An Environment and Climate Strategy was published by RBWM in 2020, with goals set for 2025, upon which time the goals will be reassessed and updated . So far progress has been good, with all four key themes having been addressed. Nonetheless the councillor has strong views on an issue which she believes aren’t addressed adequately enough in the strategy, Air pollution. “Airborne particulates are a contributing factor in the onset of heart disease, cancer, and dementia, and they particularly effect the most vulnerable in society.” With the recent additions of 5 additional monitors for PM2.5 and PM10, it looks likely that once more data has been collated, action will follow. PM2.5 is a serious concern across the globe, with information published on the 19th of March 2024 showing that only seven countries meet the WHO standards, the U.K not being one of them.
As well as the main strategy document, there is now also a Sustainability Supplementary Planning Document which is aimed at shaping new development towards net-zero, for example it gives guidance on achieving 10% net gain of biodiversity.
All in all, progress has been slow so far, but there is hope for it to increase if the national government provides help to accelerate progress for local authorities across the country, particularly with the Labour Party pledging large amounts of money to be spent on the environment, but they would have to honour those pledges, something which seems less likely than when they first made them. By getting outside support and committing to the Climate Partnership the borough created to increase cooperation within the borough, the RBWM can meet their goals.
