Committee agrees plans to continue progress on climate emergency
Members of the Environment, Climate Emergency and Transport Committee received an update on Wirral Council’s progress towards meeting carbon emissions targets it has set for itself as part of its aim to be carbon ‘net zero’ by 2030.
This was the yearly performance report that the committee had requested be produced to give them oversight of the current and planned activities and monitor the progress being made in Wirral on reducing carbon emissions.
They were told that though 2024-25 had seen a reduction in net emissions, for the second year in succession, the level of emissions recorded was higher than the target set for the year.
Wirral Council declared an Environment and Climate Emergency in July 2019 and in each of the first three years since, the council managed to exceed the target. In 2023-24 and now 2024-25 that progress has plateaued.
The report explains that this is because in the early years the council was able to complete many of the low-cost, quick win measures to reduce carbon emissions across the council. Now they were done, the more difficult, costly measures were proving more challenging to implement. This included the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy or low carbon alternatives to power the council’s buildings and vehicle fleet.
A further report about the Environment and Climate Emergency Action Plan (ECEAP) was also considered by the committee at the same meeting on Monday.
Amongst other details, this report described some of the measures planned to address environmental issues in the coming year, which includes the continued purchase of green electricity, a move to commercialising the Birkenhead Heat Network and exploring the feasibility of developing other heat networks in the borough. It also explained how the council would look to continue to improve the energy efficiency of the council estate, building on lessons learned from a project that delivered improvements at council leisure facilities.
The ECEAP report highlighted that the council has been successful in securing two rounds of Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) funding that would allow the decarbonisation of nine council buildings to take place.
The first round in 2024 secured £900,000 and preliminary work has already started at Wirral Country Park and Landican cemetery, which is scheduled to be completed by 31 March 2026. Moving away from fossil fuel fired heating at the two sites will reduce energy costs and emissions by 127 tonnes CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent).
The second tranches of funding is part of a successful combined Liverpool City Region bid totalling more than £30m. Wirral’s share of this allocation from PSDS will be £13.75m and is earmarked for works at:-
- Birkenhead Central Library
- Floral Pavilion & Conference Centre
- Leasowe Leisure Centre
- Oval Sports Centre
- Wallasey Town Hall
- West Kirby Concourse
- Williamson Art Gallery
The ECEAP report also detailed significant progress over the last 12 months in achieving some of the aims set out in the plan. This included the ongoing Eco Schools programme, led by the council’s Eco Schools Programme Manager, which aims to engage, educate and empower young people in the borough on environmental issues.
The Environment, Climate Emergency Action Plan report is full of really good, positive stuff and I’d particularly like to emphasis the work done with the Eco Schools programme.
It is really interesting to read about how much work is being done by the young people engaged with the programme and how well informed they are; there are people who have been with the programme right the way through their education and are now leaving school so well informed about the environment thanks to this work that has been ongoing for quite some time now.
We now have 66 Green Flag schools, which is amazing and should be celebrated, as should the fact that 25 out of only 41 schools nationally who have achieved Hedgehog Friendly Campus status are in Wirral. The report details a range of achievements such as this and I’d like to thank the officers for the updates.
Both reports were considered together and approved by the committee by assent.
