Cardiff Council Update: 15 October

Here is the latest update from Cardiff Council, covering: Council will lead the way in drive to deliver a carbon neutral Cardiff by 2030; Cardiff extends record for most Green Flag standard spaces in Wales; Cardiff's COVID-19 case and test numbers; cases reported in Cardiff's schools in the last seven days; vaccination totals for Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan; and Greenway Primary School hosts The Queen's Green Canopy Tree Planting.

Council will lead the way in drive to deliver a carbon neutral Cardiff by 2030

The One Planet Strategy - which sets out Cardiff Council's plans to deliver a carbon neutral local authority by 2030 - has been published and approved by Cardiff Council's Cabinet.

The council has spent the past year calculating the amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs) (expressed as an equivalent carbon dioxide emission (CO₂e)) it produces, while looking at ways in which emissions can be reduced.

The latest figures show that Wales' capital is responsible for 1,626,056 tonnes of Carbon Dioxide (CO_2e) every year, with around 184,904 tonnes generated by the council.

Cllr Michael Michael, Cabinet Member for Clean Streets, Recycling and Environment, said: "There is little doubt that climate change is the defining global challenge of our generation. This Council declared a Climate Emergency in 2019, and since then we have been working hard to build a strategy that sets out how the council will become carbon neutral by 2030.

"Over the past 5 years this administration has successfully reduced Cardiff Council's carbon emissions from electricity by 70%. As part of our One Planet strategy, we have projects already up and running or ready to go which, when fully implemented, will reduce our emissions by 57% by 2030. We also have a series of proposals, which we are now developing business cases for, which we believe will deliver a carbon-neutral council by 2030.

"Ideally we want the whole city to be carbon neutral by 2030. To do that we know we have to lead by example. It is the right thing to do, and we know it is what the majority of people in Cardiff want us to do.

"Our plan is to front up, show what can be achieved, and to do our best to bring our residents, businesses and the public sector together on this journey, to create the greener, cleaner, healthier city we all want. Reducing total carbon emissions created by the city is a major challenge. The council is making a head start on that too. We are introducing a raft of measures which, if fully implemented, could cut the city's total emissions by 22% by 2030. Transport accounts for 41% of all carbon emissions created in Cardiff right now. It is the largest single producer of carbon in the city. This is why our Transport White Paper is clearly aimed at reducing private car use while boosting public transport and active travel use. This will be key to reducing citywide emissions."

The public, business, key stakeholders and the youth of Cardiff were consulted on the draft One Planet Strategy in late 2020 and early 2021 and the results, alongside the council's carbon data analysis identified two priorities:

to reduce energy consumption and the reliance on fossil fuels; and,
to increase the number of trees planted while increasing biodiversity across Cardiff.