London's 'greenest' council cutting back on net-zero schemes due to funding pressure

"One of the greenest local councils in the country says it is cutting back on its net-zero schemes this year due to funding pressure. Islington Council has won praise for its ambitious targets to reduce carbon emissions in the borough. Last year, the borough was ranked the best single-tier local authority in the UK for its actions on climate change, which include decarbonising its waste recycling centre, rolling out electric vehicles and carrying out a social housing retrofit programme."

"Now the council plans to pause some of its net-zero schemes it says have been hamstrung by a lack of government funding. In 2020, the council pledged its ambition to make its corporate buildings carbon neutral by the end of the decade. Budget documents published last month, however, reveal the severe limits on the capital it needs to, for instance, replace gas boilers with renewables or connect civic and office buildings to heat networks."

"Amid the financial strains, the council last month revealed it plans to change its original net-zero targets to be more realistic. Cllr Rowena Champion, Islington Council's Executive Member for Environment, Air Quality & Transport Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) in January, the Labour-run council stressed its finances were in a healthy place since it has been able to deliver balanced budget proposals which protect frontline services, mostly by reducing spending from its back office."

Islington Council is pausing and scaling back some net-zero schemes this year due to funding pressures and lack of government match funding. The council previously ranked as the top single-tier local authority for climate action, with work on decarbonising its waste recycling centre, rolling out electric vehicles and a social housing retrofit programme. A 2020 pledge aimed to make corporate buildings carbon neutral by the end of the decade, but budget documents show limited capital for replacing gas boilers with renewables or connecting buildings to heat networks. The council has revised net-zero targets to be more realistic while protecting frontline services amid rising costs and limited new funding.

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