Bristol’s place as one of the leading green cities will be further established this week when the City Council’s Cabinet debate an ambitious programme to improve the energy efficiency of the city and secure affordable, low carbon energy supplies.

Release Date:  25-Feb-2010

The Cabinet will be asked at its meeting this evening (25th February) to adopt a wide-ranging plan that will help the city meet its target to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 40% by 2020, and make the city less reliant on oil.

The plan - which will now go out for consultation - includes:

 - Tough new carbon reduction targets for energy use in homes, businesses, organisations and local road transport. Each sector would aim to reduce emissions by 40% by 2020 from the 2005 baseline, and the relevant council Director and Cabinet Member would be responsible for annual updates/monitoring.
- Investment in new infrastructure and upgrading buildings over the next five years - £6 million investment in energy savings measures in homes, and £300 million investment in sustainable transport.
- A commitment to work with every organisation and community in Bristol to bring the necessary change on the ground to make Bristol a sustainable city.

Leader of the Council Barbara Janke said: “This plan represents a first for this council. We are not just saying how can we achieve our ambitions on carbon emissions, we are also clearly committing the city to tackle head on a future where we must be less reliant on oil.

“We can’t do one without the other. There are obvious challenges involved here, but equally many opportunities for residents and the city. Cheaper fuel bills, new jobs in low carbon industries, less congestion and a better quality of life.

“Bristol is already ahead of many other cities but the task ahead of us is mammoth. This is why we are setting out 40 immediate steps that we are taking over the next year, along with clear long-term goals for the next five to 10 years.

“The underlying emphasis here is on partnership. The City Council can only do so much, we must work with partners at every level from communities to national Government, if we are to achieve these ambitious goals.”

The 40 actions that will be taken in 2010/11 - supported by the £1 million set aside in this year’s Budget for digital and low carbon growth, include:

- A programme to insulate 3,000 homes
- The development of a Bristol Energy Plan
- Funding to help small businesses become more energy efficient
- Start procurement for the construction of 2 large wind turbines at Avonmouth
- Expand the number of biomass boilers in council buildings, with four additional sites being planned.

 Action already taken

• The City has recently adopted a target to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 40% by 2020 from a 2005 baseline. It also recently commissioned with the Bristol Partnership a study of the implications of Peak Oil (when oil production will begin to fall worldwide) for Bristol.
• In 2009, Bristol City Council was short-listed as a finalist of the European Green Capital Award, and shown to be one of the most energy efficient cities in the country in figures released by the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

Since 2004 the Council has achieved:

• Improvements in the carbon efficiency of homes, transport and businesses.  We estimate that we have already saved about 10% on the city’s emissions since then.
• Helping people and communities be more efficient and have cheaper energy bills - Bristol’s homes are using at least 10% less energy and Bristol’s businesses are using about 20% less energy than in 2005.
• Less waste and more recycling - Bristol residents now produce 20% less waste per person and have doubled the city’s recycling rate.
• We have stopped the growth in transport emissions and begun to see a reduction, with 40% more cyclists in the city centre.