WILTSHIRE Climate Alliance says that “much is needed to be done” if Wiltshire Council is to stick to their 2030 carbon neutral commitment after the council’s climate action score dropped from 81% in 2022 to just 40% in 2023 – but Wiltshire Council says this score still puts them above average compared to other local authorities.
The scorecards, published by Climate Emergency UK, are a wholly independent assessment of the climate plans and strategies of councils around the country. Scorecards for this year have assessed local authorities on their overall climate actions, whereas the previous year focused on climate strategies only.
Councils are marked and scored on their climate action based on 89 questions. These assessments cover a period from January 2019 until March 2023, but questions involving national data may be calculated until August 2023. This year Wiltshire’s overall score of 40% is still above the average (35%) for single tier councils, but their overall ranking fell to 57th out of 176 councils and other nearby councils, like Dorset, Bath & NE Somerset and South Gloucestershire, scored higher than Wiltshire.
Wiltshire scored just 10% on Transport, due to picking up negative penalty points in relation to building more high-carbon road projects and failing to tackle air pollution since 2019. It was also below average on waste but above average on building and heating, collaboration and engagement, governance finance and narrowly on biodiversity.
Bill Jarvis from the Wiltshire Climate Alliance, said “The 2023 scorecard result demonstrates the scale and complexity facing Wiltshire Council’s climate team to make the significant changes needed to achieve their 2030 carbon neutral commitments.
“Many of these are vital public services, such as social care, transport and waste removal. The council has begun the journey of re-negotiating these contracts to deliver the required reduction in climate impacts. Much needs to be done, but as can be seen from the scorecard, time is clearly not on their side.”
‘Failed to deliver’
Keith Freegard, business lead at the Wiltshire Climate Alliance added, “The results show that Wiltshire council are good at creating plans and producing attractive infographics about climate change and are gaining momentum in taking meaningful actions. However, they have failed to deliver across several key areas, such as transport, biodiversity and waste.”
Cllr Nick Holder, cabinet member for climate change at Wiltshire Council said, “Overall we’re pleased to be above the national average in comparison to our local authority peers according to this snapshot data, but we are wary that league tables have to be taken with a pinch of salt as direct comparisons with local authorities of different shapes and sizes can produce varying results.
“We are proud of the huge amounts of work we’ve put into this challenging area and the great strides we have undoubtedly taken. It’s clear in looking at the scorecards across the board from other authorities that there are clear and common challenges to overcome.
“However, our careful planning, underpinned by our business plan and climate strategy, keeps us on track and confident that we’re making excellent progress. There’s always more to be done and we’ll take any lessons from the scorecard assessment, particularly where we fell below the average, and continue to work hard internally and externally to make a positive difference.
“As per our recent six-month update to cabinet and full council on our ongoing response to the climate emergency, we are working on a huge number of projects that will reduce the council’s own carbon footprint as well as that of the county’s, and we remain committed to driving this work forward. That’s demonstrated by the fact that the amount of renewable energy produced on our own estate has trebled in the last year alone.
‘On track’
“As an organisation, we are on track to being carbon neutral by 2030 and we’ll continue to look at ways to help the county and set an example for others to follow. As we’ve always said though, this is not a responsibility we can carry alone but we’re committed to doing what we can to lead the way.”
More information about Wiltshire’s Climate Strategy can be found at www.wiltshire.gov.uk/article/1004/Climate-strategy
The scorecard website can be found at https://councilclimatescorecards.uk
