Carbon emissions linked to East Renfrewshire Council are the equivalent of all 95,000 residents taking a round-the-world flight, officials have said.
Research on the council’s current emissions has been carried out as bosses look to step up the area’s response to the climate emergency.
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A 10% drop in emissions due to the pandemic means the last pre-covid year — 2019/20 — will be used as a baseline. In that year, the council’s greenhouse gas emissions were estimated to be 70.2 kt CO2e.
Offsetting the 2019/20 emissions through tree-planting would require 163 hectares of land — the equivalent of 228 football pitches. This would be required each year if emissions aren’t reduced.
A council officer said he believes the baseline measurement is “the equivalent of all of the council’s 95,000 residents taking a round-the-world flight”.
“I draw that comparison in order to demonstrate the scale of the challenge that we face as a council in trying to reduce our emissions.”
A ‘Get to Zero’ plan to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2045, with interim targets for 75% by 2030 and 90% by 2040, will be published later this year.
The carbon baseline exercise was completed by consultants, Accelar and Aether Ltd, at a cost of £10,670 and the analysis will be required every year to “meet the statutory requirements on climate change reporting”.
The top source of emissions was procurement, or the council’s supply chain, at 57%. Natural gas supplies to council buildings (15%), municipal landfill (12%) and electricity use in properties (9%) were also high on the list.
Food and garden waste recycling accounts for 3% of emissions while fuel for vehicles is 2%.
The initial focus was on the council’s operations, but a report to East Renfrewshire’s cabinet added the “role of the wider community in reducing emissions will need to be explored in more detail”.
Council leader Tony Buchanan said: “We are committed to tackling climate change across the area and our Get to Zero action plan will set out how the council will reduce its own emissions and support our communities to reduce their emissions.
“As part of this process we will engage closely with the community as residents and businesses will need to play their part in the fight against climate change.
“It is important that we prioritise reducing our emissions as much as possible before considering other schemes to capture and absorb greenhouse gas emissions.”
Emissions are broken down into three categories. Scope one covers all direct emissions from council-owned sources, such as petrol and diesel vehicles and gas supply in council buildings, while scope two includes energy-related indirect emissions, like electricity for properties or street lighting.
Scope three is other indirect emissions including council business travel, procurement of goods and services and waste disposal. Public bodies do not have to report scope three emissions, but East Renfrewshire will as it believes it is “putting itself in a strong position to meet future reporting requirements”.
Greenhouse gas emissions reduced by 7ktCO2e in 2020/21, with most reductions attributed to decreased occupation of council buildings and a drop in travel.
The council report stated “real progress” has been made in reducing emissions from “waste being diverted from landfill to energy recovery”, with a 49% reduction estimated.
As the top source of emissions, procurement activity will be a priority of the Get to Zero action plan. The report stated experience from other councils suggested the “greatest opportunities” for reductions in this area could be around construction and infrastructure, ICT and furniture.
Cllr Colm Merrick asked for more detail on how the council would reduce its emissions.
The council officer said: “For some things we need to buy less, other things we need to buy differently. Is there a product on the market available which has a lower carbon content?
“Some of the products we need to purchase are not necessarily available at the moment, but we do anticipate there will be a lot of innovation, research and development in that area between now and 2030.”
Cllr Merrick added: “The worry there is that they become more expensive. Hopefully the people that we buy for will also be given targets and encouraged strongly to address this problem.”
