Birmingham City Council’s Route to Net Zero

On 11th June 2019 the Council declared a climate emergency, recognising climate change as an existential threat to our current way of life, and making a commitment to act against it.

As part of this declaration, an ambitious target was set for ‘the Council and city to become net zero carbon by 2030, or as soon as possible thereafter as a just transition allows’, going beyond the Government’s own 2050 net zero target for the whole of the UK. Net zero means reducing our emissions and the total amount of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere.

Alongside our net zero commitment, in 2024 the Council formally pledged its support for the Climate and Ecology Bill, a plan for a new UK law that addresses the full extent of the climate and nature crisis in line with the most up-to-date science. Importantly, this proposed law would bring the UK’s emissions targets in-line with the Paris Climate agreement and commit the UK to reversing biodiversity loss by 2030.

The Council is currently working with various partners on multiple programmes to achieve this target, namely Innovate UK, West Midlands Combined Authority, Business Growth West Midlands, National Lottery Heritage Fund, the National Trust, European Union, Midlands Net Zero Hub, the UK Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

Some of the programmes that you can find a more detailed summary of below, include the Urban Nature Development and the Urban Forest Accelerator projects that aim to increase the tree canopy in the city, improve green spaces and provide a budgeted Green Infrastructure Master Plan for East Birmingham. The Carmine project aspires to improve climate resilience in European cities by developing local adaption strategies, of which Birmingham is one of the pilot cities. Through these collaborative efforts, Birmingham City Council is taking steps towards creating a greener, more sustainable future for the city and its residents.