Climate emergency action plan - pathway to net zero

Our Climate Emergency Action Plan: Pathway to Net Zero (CEAP or ‘Pathway’) sets out our aim to achieve the 2030 target by acting holistically as a town, not just as a council working in isolation.

Introduction

Cheltenham Borough Council declared a climate emergency in July 2019 and committed to becoming a net zero council and borough by 2030. This declaration was followed by our Climate Emergency Action Plan: Pathway to Net Zero, published in 2022. In 2024, the progress of the actions listed were reviewed and updated to move forward the delivery of the 2030 targets. You can read the updated action plan in these pages or you can download a PDF of the 2024 update. We have collated our actions based on eight categories to help provide focus to the broad impact of the climate emergency.

Leading by example

As a council, we strongly believe that in order to ask others to make the necessary changes to their organisations and lives, we must be seen to be leading on making these changes ourselves. By seeking to set ever higher standards, we can offer advice and share best practice to make it easier for others to follow, signposting to other leaders along the way.

Decision making, policies and strategies

We know there is a need for the climate agenda to be a strong policy thread across the council. To sucessfully embed a net zero culture in our organisation, climate needs to be a focus for all our officers and members, woven through each of our departments. We will ensure all our decisions help to meet national and local net zero carbon targets, improve air quality and protect and restore nature.

Finance, funding and procurement

Both public and private investment is crucial to the success of reaching our targets for 2030.

Heating

Heating for homes and workspaces currently makes up almost a third of all UK carbon emissions and 42 per cent of borough-wide emissions, according to the UK Greenhouse Gas Inventory. Improvements drastically need to be made with the energy efficiency of housing and non-domestic properties. This will ensure they need less energy to heat, making them cheaper to run and more comfortable to live and work in, whilst reducing our dependence on imported energy. This needs to apply to both new and existing housing stock.

Transport

A modal shift to more active transport can reduce emissions from privately owned vehicles. An estimated 70 per cent of car journeys within Cheltenham are under 2km. Many of these journeys could be made on foot or by bicycle. For those unable to make these journeys without a vehicle, public transport needs to become a more attractive option. Policies such as this will help to improve Cheltenham’s air quality with positive health impacts.

Ecology

We are experiencing an ecological crisis, alongside climate change. Our wildlife, biodiversity and ecosystems are at risk if action is not taken. Planting more trees to provide shade, protecting and extending wild spaces for nature, increasing biodiversity, restoring our land to lock up carbon and building our resilience to flooding, will all contribute to reducing the impact of climate change. Improving the quality of our natural spaces across the borough will also lead to better health and wellbeing.

Water

Climate change affects water management in multiple ways, including changes to seasonal and annual patterns of floods and droughts which can affect water quality and availability. This can have related impacts on our health, economic activities and on ecosytems that are dependent on freshwater. Discarded plastic and other pollutants, along with an over-use of herbicides and pesticides, are also damaging the environment and reducing biodiversity across land and sea. We will continue to work with the business community and residents to move towards a circular economy and improved resource efficiency.

Working together

The council knows it cannot achieve the 2030 target alone. By working in partnership with organisations and residents across the borough, we can have greater power to bring about the necessary changes and action needed to achieve our climate change mitigation and adaptation.