Decision Session – Executive Member for Environment and Climate Change

 

14 December 2022

 

29 June 2021

 

Report of the Head of Carbon Reduction

 

Portfolio of the Executive Member for Environment and Climate Change

 

Report of the Head of Carbon Reduction

 

Portfolio of the Executive Member for Environment and Climate Change

York Emissions Inventory Report 2022

 

Summary

 

1.           This report presents the Emissions Inventory for the City of York. The data will be used to monitor progress against the council ambition to achieve net zero carbon for the city by 2030.

 

2.           The emissions inventory was compiled using SCATTER[1]; a tool designed for, and widely used by, local authorities to report emissions.

 

3.           Emissions across the city for 2019 (the latest reporting year) were 912kilotonnes Carbon Dioxide equivalent (ktCO2e). This covers Scope 1 and 2 (direct) emissions, representing a reduction of 2.6% from 2018.

 

4.           The built environment and transport sector account for over 90% of our direct local emissions. The council is responsible for around 4% of city-wide emissions.

 

5.           While the focus of our inventory reporting is Scope 1 and 2 emissions, as these fall directly under the control of actors within the city, we are exploring improved carbon accounting and management options to include scope 3 (indirect) emissions in the future.

 

Recommendations

 

6.           The Executive Member is asked to:

 

i.           Approve the York Emissions Inventory Report

 

Reason: This report fulfils the commitment in the Council Plan to report on city-wide carbon emissions and monitor progress towards the net zero ambition

 

Background

 

7.           SCATTER (Setting City Area Targets and Trajectories for Emissions Reduction) is a local authority focussed emissions tool developed by Anthesis, Nottingham City Council and The Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research using funding from The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

 

8.           SCATTER standardises greenhouse gas reporting and aligns to international frameworks, including the setting of targets in line with the Paris Climate Agreement. It is also compliant with the reporting standards of The Global Covenant of Mayors’ Common Reporting Framework (CRF) and Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP).

 

9.           The methodology[2] is based on the Accounting and Reporting Standard developed by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, the Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventories. Greenhouse Gas Protocol Guidance.

 

10.        This report presents the latest York Emissions Report Inventory (2022) for the reporting year 2019. Previous reports are available from the council website[3].

 

York’s City-Wide Emissions

 

11.        Scope 1 and 2 emissions in York for 2019 were 912ktCO2e; a reduction from 936ktCO2e in 2018 (2.6%).

 

Fig 1: York’s city-wide emissions profile in 2019 as modelled by SCATTER inventory tool.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fig 2: Comparison of York’s city-wide emissions profile 2018 and 2019

 

12.        The built environment accounts for just over 60% of emissions in York across both domestic and non-domestic. The proportion of emissions from homes has increased since 2018 to, while the share of emissions from other buildings has seen a slight reduction. Most emissions from buildings are associated with gas consumption used for space heating and hot water.

 

13.        Emissions from transport is another significant contributor, with on-road transport responsible for most of these emissions. The percentage of emissions from transport has increased since 2018.

 

14.        Emissions from all sectors has reduced since 2018, with the exception being industrial based emissions.

 

15.        A more detailed breakdown of emissions by sub-sector is presented in the Inventory Summary Report (Annex A).

 

16.        The York Emissions Inventory and SCATTER Pathway Tool is used to support the evidence base for the York Climate Change Strategy.

 

17.        The council published an Action Update of measures to reduce city-wide carbon emissions in May 2022.[4]

 

Council Plan

 

18.        The recommendation from this paper fulfils one of the commitments from the Council Plan: Providing data of carbon emissions across the city. This monitors progress against the Greener and Cleaner Council Plan priority.

 

Implications

 

·           Financial – no financial implications have been identified

·           Human Resources (HR) – no HR implications have been identified

·           Equalities – no equalities implications have been identified   

·           Legal – no legal implications have been identified

·           Crime and Disorder – no crime and disorder implications have been identified

·           Information Technology (IT) – the majority of information being recorded is already captured in some format. Some of this information is reported through the York Open Data Platform. Consolidating this data into one place will make it easier for the public to access, increase transparency and collaborative working.

·           Property – no property implications have been identified

 

Risk Management

 

The following risks have been identified:

 

·          Transparency: Wider emissions reporting refers in the main to city partner activity.  Partners will use their own methodology to measure their own impact and there might be occasions when data is not aligned.  City partners will work together to present a shared narrative about data as it is published.

·          Time: with a 2.5 year time lag for the data, it will be some time before the impact of policies is really understood. This brings a risk that inadvertent and negative impacts are not acted on quickly enough.  To mitigate this risk the council will work with city partners, and draw on available evidence to better understand impact until the accurate data is available

 

Contact Details

 

Author:

Shaun Gibbons

 

Officer Responsible for the report:

 

Head of Carbon Reduction

Policy, Intelligence, Carbon and Communications

shaun.gibbons@york.gov.uk

Claire Foale

Assistant Director Policy & Strategy

Report Approved

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Date

05/12/2022

 

Wards Affected:                                                                   

 

All

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For further information please contact the author of the report

 

 

Background Papers:

 

York Emissions Inventory Report 2021

https://modgov.york.gov.uk/documents/s153498/EMDS_York%20Emissions%20Inventory%20Report_2021.pdf

 

Climate Change Action Update

https://modgov.york.gov.uk/documents/s158862/EMDS_Climate%20Change%20Action%20Update_May%202022.pdf

 

 

Annexes

 

Annex A: York Emissions Inventory Summary


[1] https://scattercities.com/

[2] https://scatter-staging.anthesis.systems/pages/methodology/

[3] https://www.york.gov.uk/climate-change-governance/ClimateChangeGovernance/2

[4]https://modgov.york.gov.uk/documents/s158862/EMDS_Climate%20Change%20Action%20Update_May%202022.pdf