Climate change targets to get 'more difficult'

Dorset Council said meeting climate change targets would take significant effort

Meeting climate change targets in Dorset is likely to become increasingly difficult, according to a new report.

While gains have been made by Dorset Council, many of these were only possible because of multi-million pound government funding, which has now been reduced.

Some areas have already "slipped", with national greenhouse gas emissions having increased by 6% in what is described as “a post-Covid rebound.”

The council report stated that "the impacts of climate change pose a significant risk to council services and budgets."

A council report, to be considered on Tuesday, says the three most significant sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the county are transport (29%), agriculture (33%) and from households (22%).

The council itself has seen its own emissions reduced by 27%, compared to its baseline year in 2019 - which has been achieved through reducing building energy and fuel.

The report, which will be discussed by the Place and Resources Scrutiny committee, said: “We have achieved much over the year, however as we proceed our trajectory will likely get more difficult and it will take significant effort to reach our next interim operational target and to get our county-wide trajectory back on target.

"Achieving this will require (a) increasing the pace and scale of our activity; (b) delivering smarter by giving greater definition to our pathways and targets; and (c) strengthening our facilitation work by working more closely with our communities.”

The council said it had recruited four members of staff to its sustainability team to help the process and it aims to recruit a further two.

Given the high level of public interest in climate change the report warns that not reporting on progress is considered potentially damaging to the council’s reputation.

“The publication of this report is in line with commitments made and shows a significant level of progress; but notes that there remains a need for increased urgency and further progress," it said.

"The impacts of climate change pose a significant risk to council services and budgets and the wider Dorset area in the medium and long-term.

"Failure to effectively address the climate and ecological emergency and resilience will increase the risks associated with climate change.”