Emissions drop as climate efforts continue in East Sussex

Environmental efforts have seen East Sussex County Council cut its carbon emissions by over 60 per cent since 2008 – equivalent to the annual energy use of more than 7,000 residents.

Whilst the achievement has helped the authority reach its ambitious 2020/21 target, work continues to become carbon neutral by 2050 at the latest.

The latest Carbon Highlight Report details the level of emissions from corporate and school buildings, the council’s fleet of vehicles, streetlighting and its server centre.

The county council declared a climate emergency in 2019 and developed a Climate Emergency Action Plan which sets out how the authority will reach its target. Last year the county council’s corporate emissions fell by 1,672 tonnes, or 13 per cent, compared with 2019/20, in line with its target and science-based carbon budget.

Nick Bennett, deputy leader and lead member for resources, said: “We have made some significant changes to our buildings and the way we work to more than halve our carbon emissions since 2008. Becoming a carbon neutral authority is not something that can happen overnight and, whilst we celebrate our efforts so far, we continue to be committed to the challenges ahead.”