Sefton Council has published its Climate Emergency Annual Report, confirming a 7% reduction in emissions in the last year as continued progress is made towards the Council’s ambitious net zero 2030 target.

Since 2019, when the Council began to track its emissions, there has been a 2,036 tonne-reduction in total emissions, which represents an 18% decrease.

The reduction can be contributed to a number of factors and successful Council-led projects including the ongoing street lighting LED replacement programme.

Renewable electricity

Electricity use is the biggest part of the Council’s carbon footprint. Earlier this year a decision was made to switch to a green electricity energy supplier. This means all electricity used by Sefton Council is now generated from 100% renewable sources which will underpin further carbon reductions moving forward.

Working with the Liverpool City Region

A number of other projects also took place last year to support the Liverpool City Region in their target to reach net zero by 2040, including the Solar Together Project, which supported installation of energy-saving solar panels and battery storage to over 200 homes in the borough.

The delivery of several domestic retrofit programmes has also increased the energy efficiency of local homes and helped residents save money on heating bills.

Cllr Paulette Lappin, Cabinet Member for Regulatory and Corporate Services said: “I am delighted to see that we continue to make progress towards our 2030 net zero target.

“It is testament to the hard work of everyone at the Council to have seen so many projects that contributes to the reduction in our carbon footprint, including the Council’s switch to 100% renewable electricity!”

Eco Centre climate education

The Council continues to engage with young people and schools through its work at the Eco Centre in Southport. This year the teaching staff delivered climate related education to over 3,000 school children.

Cllr Paulette Lappin continued: “I strongly encourage everyone to take a read of the latest annual Climate Report to learn more about the important work being done to reduce our carbon emissions.”

People can find the Annual Report and further information on Sefton’s Climate Emergency progress on the Council’s website.