FAQs

A ‘Climate Emergency’ declaration can be described as a majority agreement by a democratically elected body, or public interest group to recognise the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report on 1.5^oC global warming and to publicly declare actions to address this. The resolution by Cornwall Council is part of an internationally recognised declaration that requires a target date for a reduction in emissions or carbon neutrality consistent with the IPCC Report of October 2018.

• IPCC Report
• Climate Emergency Declaration Website

‘Carbon neutral’ is about achieving net zero carbon emissions by balancing a measured amount of carbon released with an equivalent amount sequestered or offset, or buying enough carbon credits to make up the difference. So whatever is being made or done, the amount of carbon that is captured or offset is as much carbon that has been produced to make or do that thing. For example, a house with solar panels that sends renewable energy to the grid that is equal to the energy it uses from the grid can deem its energy use as carbon neutral.

This differs from ‘zero carbon’ which is when no carbon was emitted in the first place, so no carbon needs to be captured or offset. For example, a household that is off-grid, running entirely on solar, and using zero fossil fuels can label its energy “zero carbon.”

Our report published on 19 July 2019 outlines the steps we want to take in striving towards carbon neutrality. Steps in the report include:

• A Forest for Cornwall to be planted over the next 10 years and covering around 32 square miles – about two per cent of Cornwall’s land mass. It would increase canopy cover in the region substantially, absorb a critical amount of carbon and support wildlife.
• A new climate change planning shake-up to strengthen existing policies in the Local Plan to promote renewable energy, environmental growth and energy-efficient homes, increasing employment opportunities and generating more of our own energy.
• A whole-house retrofit pilot which would see energy efficiency improvements fitted to Cornwall Housing homes, helping reduce fuel poverty for residents on low incomes.
• Improving energy efficiency that reduces demand for energy across the economy
• Helping residents to make choices that lead to lower carbon emissions
• Promoting public transport, walking and cycling.
• Increased electrification in the key areas of transport and heating
• Expansion of renewable energy generation
• Carbon capture and storage to reduce emissions that enter the atmosphere
• Change the way land is used and developed to tackle the climate emergency

Read the full report

In addition we have been working to improve our public transport system, increasing the number of council offices with access to renewable energy and changing our street lighting regime. The street lighting scheme has not only safeguarded our night skyscapes but has also saved over £26M in energy and maintenance costs and contributed to a reduction in CO2 emissions. Our waste strategy is focused on reducing the production of waste and encouraging reuse and recycling as more sustainable methods of waste management.

We have committed to become single use plastic free by 2020 and councillors recently supported a motion to also go paperless, both actions reducing the waste we produce.

We are taking action to address poor air quality.Our updated Clean Air Strategy will be going out for public consultation later in 2019. It will aim to raise awareness of air quality and the links to health, provide an approach for reducing pollution levels and improve the Council’s emissions performance.

We’re investigating a broad range of renewable and low carbon infrastructure, including wind, geothermal, and wave power.

Forest for Cornwall is an ambitious tree planting project with the principle aim of fighting climate change. When complete we hope it will cover approximately 8,000 hectares, that’s about 2% of Cornwall’s land area. The Forest for Cornwall is not a single area of new forest. It’s our ambition to significantly increase all forms of canopy cover throughout Cornwall, whilst strengthening the protection of our existing backbone of trees, woodlands and hedges. Forest for Cornwall will be delivered through partnerships and private sector projects. These vary in scale and are at different stages of development and delivery. They all have the common aim of increasing canopy cover throughout Cornwall.

Calculations using the Woodland Carbon Code suggest that an 8,000 hectare forest will capture 38,000 tons of carbon dioxide a year and sequester (remove) upwards of 1% of Cornwall’s greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is just one of the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

There will be a wide range of tree planting in keeping with ‘the right trees in the right places’ principle. Trees chosen will include species native to Cornwall today and from the historic records, alongside non-native species where appropriate. We will also plant to reflect our changing climate as we plan for a warmer Cornwall with increased extreme weather events.