Progress reported in the Climate Action Program update

A health action plan to support vulnerable residents during heatwaves and the upcoming completion of the LED street lighting replacement program are among the key points in a new climate action report for Oxfordshire.

Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet has today noted the six-month update on the implementation of its climate action programme.

Councilor Dr Pete Sudbury, Deputy Leader of Oxfordshire County Council with responsibility for climate change, the environment and future generations, said: “We choose to take the lead on climate and put it at the heart of everything we do, because that is what this situation demands.

“Climate change is the greatest threat facing humanity and public agencies must be on a war footing to tackle it. However, with this threat comes the opportunity to do things in a better, more sustainable way: a harbinger of an end to pollution, an improved natural world and a fourth industrial revolution.

“We want Oxfordshire to be at the forefront of this because if we can’t make it work, with a world-leading innovation economy and the greatest place for learning in the history of human civilisation, who can?”

The three pillars of the climate action program are: becoming a climate-active council; decarbonising the council’s assets and activities by 2030; and enabling Oxfordshire’s transition to net zero.

Cllr Sudbury added: “Ending climate pollution and especially the use of fossil fuels will bring real benefits. Over the past five years, our climate leadership, together with committed local partners, has delivered over £210 million of investment in Oxfordshire to make homes more energy efficient, expand electric vehicle charging, reduce waste, promote active travel and invest in electric buses. ”

Emissions will be reduced through the installation of energy efficient LED street lighting across Oxfordshire. The project has cost £40 million over four years, but will reduce the amount of carbon dioxide produced by 70 percent and save around £75 million in energy costs over the next 20 years.

A scheme to help schools improve their energy efficiency has been extended until 2024-2025, and the council has also provided grants for home upgrades for low-income residents.

Another important task is to protect the people, businesses and institutions of Oxfordshire from an increasingly chaotic and destructive climate.

The council’s vital community services are directly threatened by more frequent extreme weather, including this winter’s floods, and heatwaves, such as in Oxfordshire in 2022, when temperatures reached a record 38.4 degrees Celsius.

Cllr Sudbury added: “We need coordinated action, both preventative and reactive, across all our areas of responsibility, including emergency planning, highways, fire and rescue, floods, public health and local nature recovery.

“We have laid the foundation for that resilience in organizations and companies throughout the province.”

The report highlights a heat health action plan, developed to support vulnerable residents during potential heat waves and planning for extreme heat.

The council has also been working with the University of Exeter on a toolkit, which will be released soon, to help local decision makers improve climate adaptation and resilience, and to develop bespoke climate adaptation action plans for council-maintained schools to reduce flooding and overheating.

The report also measures progress made in enabling Oxfordshire’s transition to net zero emissions by monitoring scenarios in the Pathway to Zero Carbon (PAZCO) document. This is a publication, partly commissioned by the council, and produced by Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute and the sustainability consultancy Bioregional, to provide an evidence base for the transition.

Although most of these measures are not under the council’s direct control, it can influence a significant number of them. The council wants to work with the government to help accelerate decarbonisation for businesses, homeowners and the public and voluntary sectors.

Cllr Sudbury said: “None of us are alone in this. There is a huge wave of energy, focus and determination in all sectors of our society to make the fundamental changes necessary to survive and thrive, and to end the pollution and destruction of the only planet we have.

“We have to work fast and hard and, above all, work together.”

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