Nottingham is not only on track to be the UK's first neutral city in 2028, but the second city in Europe to achieve the status, said the city council's carbon reduction chief.
The city has seen CO2 levels more than halve in the past 15 years partly thanks to policies aimed at reducing car use and investing in public transport, says Wayne Bexton, the council’s director of carbon reduction, energy and sustainability.
"We've seen a 53 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions since 2005," said Bexton. "We use data from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and the latest figures are from 2019. It’s likely to have reduced more since then."
One of the big drivers of the fall in emissions is the workplace parking levy on businesses, which was used to fund an expansion of the city’s tram system.
"The council only makes up two per cent of total CO2 emissions in the city," said Bexton. "One of our big focuses is trying to get businesses and other organisations to commit to what we want to achieve, and that’s happening by and large."
Danish capital Copenhagen is in line to beat Nottingham to the accolade of being Europe’s first carbon neutral city by three years.
Bexton is one of the speakers at Insider's Nottingham: Creating a Sustainable City forum, which takes place from 10am on Tuesday 14th September. The hour-long online discussion will also look at the redevelopment of the former Broadmarsh shopping centre into a landmark green destination.
Other speakers are Mark Chivers, director of the enterprise zone at Walgreens Boots Alliance; Lorraine Baggs, head of inward investment at Invest in Nottingham; Greg Nugent, chair of The Nottingham Project; Chris Ware, property director at Conygar, developer of the £650m Island Quarter project, and Deborah Gordon Brown, partner at law firm Shoosmiths.
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