Climate Action Plan (CAP)
A Climate Action Plan (CAP) is currently being prepared to support the Scottish Government's targets to secure a 75% reduction in carbon emissions (compared to 1990) by 2030, to achieve net zero emissions by 2045 and to set a local strategy for climate change adaptation.
Read Scotland's 2018-2032 Climate Change Plan.
East Dunbartonshire Council approved the Evidence and Options stage of the CAP in September 2023 and has now agreed a net zero target of 2036 for our direct greenhouse gas emissions (including emissions from our fleet of vehicles and buildings) and energy that we purchased (such as electricity), in addition to a target of 2045 for all other emissions including those for the East Dunbartonshire area as a whole. Read the agenda from the CAP meeting.
Details on how to deliver on these ambitious targets will be included in the draft CAP which will be taken to Council in 2024.
A draft CAP will build on the considerable progress the Council has already made in reducing our own carbon footprint in line with our Carbon Management Plan (CMP) 2015-23. The CMP focuses on corporate emissions arising from the use of electricity, natural gas, other fuels and transport (fleet and business travel), and those arising from waste disposal with a commitment to annual greenhouse gas emission reporting being introduced in the 2015 CMP.
The most recent iteration was published in November 2023 while a new emissions target was set in an update report in January 2024.
The 2022/23 Carbon Management Report, reported to the Place Neighbourhood & Corporate Assets Committee in November 2023, outlined how the percentage reductions of greenhouse gas emissions of 18% and 55% relative to the 2019/20 and 2012/13 baselines respectively significantly exceeded the targets for 2022/23 of 13% and 51%. The Council’s carbon emissions in 2022/23 were 12% lower than the emissions in 2021/22.
Work is also under way to deliver a range of actions to tackle climate change and fulfil our sustainability ambitions. Updates on this can be found in the Council’s Sustainability & Climate Change Framework (SCCF) Action Plan, which was approved by Council in December 2019 and updated in September 2021. A progress report on the delivery of the SCCF Action Plan between March 2021 and December 2023 was approved by the Council’s Place Neighbourhood & Corporate Assets Committee in January 2024
Read the Agenda for Place Neighbourhood & Corporate Assets Committee (Thursday 25 January 2024)
Efforts to reduce carbon emissions at an area-wide level are also being pursued through a range of Council strategies, including the Local Housing Strategy, Local Transport Strategy, Local Development Plan 2, Economic Recovery Plan and the development of a Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy (LHEES).
A range of other work including the delivery of our Flood Risk Management Plan, which is vital in responding to the increasing and intensifying rainfall experienced as a result of climate change, is important to help increase our resilience as weather patterns change.
A full update on the Council’s recent climate change achievements is available in our seventh annual climate change report to the Scottish Government.
The Council is also a partner with Climate Ready Clyde which has developed Glasgow City Region’s first Adaptation Strategy and Action Plan launched in June 2021, ahead of COP26 in Glasgow. The Strategy aims to ensure Glasgow City Region’s economy, society and environment is not only prepared for, but continues to flourish in the face of the impacts arising from the climate crisis.
As part of preparing Glasgow City Region’s Adaptation Strategy and Action Plan, a number of assessments were carried out to consider the social and environmental impacts of the Strategy. The Strategy and Action Plan along with all related impact assessments
The preparation of the CAP began with Stage 1 of the ‘Climate Conversation’, which ran from 8 March – 2 May 2021, consisted of online surveys and events. This process, and various subsequent consultations with internal and external stakeholders, have allowed the Council to capture local public opinion on climate change and related issues, and to discuss potential actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve our resilience to the accelerating impacts of climate change.
The Report of Consultation for Stage 1 of the Climate Conversation is available within the documents section of this page. Further community consultation was carried out in June 2022 and January 2023. A draft CAP, along with the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA): Environmental Report are scheduled to be published for public consultation in 2024.
A variety of existing and emerging Council strategies will support the objectives of the CAP and are being prepared in a joined-up way; these include the emerging Active Travel Strategy, the Circular Economy Strategy, the emerging Greenspace Strategy and Local Development Plan 3.
The Council has launched a CAP Newsletter webpage to share key developments.
Advice on how you can reduce your carbon footprint is available on the Climate Change Resources webpage.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
We do have time, albeit not much. The world's leading climate scientists warned in 2018 that there were only a dozen years left for global warming to be kept in check. So, time is tight, but we do have an opportunity to make a difference and it is crucial that we make the most of it.
There are various reasons for us to take action regardless. If we lead by example, we can demonstrate our success to others and encourage them to follow our lead. The actions we can take also have additional benefits, including short-term ones. While our influence on other countries may be limited, we can have confidence in international processes like UN Climate Change Conferences, which bring decision-makers from around the world together to agree on ways to work together on this shared global challenge.
Opportunities for action will vary depending on various factors including where you live, what your current lifestyle is like, etc. No action is insignificant, but it's useful to know what the big greenhouse gas emission sources are - in Scotland, transport is the largest contributor (12.9%), followed by businesses (8.4%) and agriculture (7.5%). Energy supply and residential emissions are other key sources.
The action required to tackle climate change is wide and varied. While it will be difficult to collate and share details of all relevant developments, through the emerging Climate Action Plan the Council will aim to share key information about what's happening across the area and the impact that this is having on emissions.