Derby's climate emergency

In May 2019, the UK Parliament unanimously approved a motion to declare a climate emergency and called on the government to adopt more ambitious targets for reaching net zero emissions.

June 2019, Parliament passed legislation requiring the government to become ‘carbon neutral’ or ‘net zero carbon’ by 2050. This means stopping the emission of most greenhouse gases and actively removing what is left by technological and natural processes.

For information on what the Government is saying and doing to reduce UK's carbon emissions, visit GOV.UK - Climate change explained.

Councils up and down the country have declared a climate emergency.

On 22 May 2019, we declared a climate emergency in Derby. The decision was unanimous across all political parties. We were asked to:

• establish a Derby Climate Change working group to respond to this challenge
• set a target for Derby to be carbon neutral
• work with other local authorities and public, private and voluntary sector partners on carbon reduction projects
• ensure the government provides the necessary resources and powers so that Derby can make it's contribution to the UK’s carbon reduction targets.

Declaring a climate emergency means we are prepared to play our part alongside other cities around the world. We are committed to taking the action needed to prevent climate change becoming much worse.

In order for Derby to become carbon neutral, everyone across our city must work together towards this common goal. The task will lead to many social, health and economic benefits as well as helping to safeguard our planet for present and future generations.