Blaenau Gwent Council has abandoned hope of achieving Net Zero status by 2030, with senior officials warning it could take another 20 years to reach the target. The 2030 Net Zero target is a Welsh Government expectation of local authorities, aiming to reach as close to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
Annual Net Zero report reviewed
A meeting was held between Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council's Economic Development and Environmental Management scrutiny committee on Tuesday, November 10, where councillors received the annual Net Zero report for 2025/2026. At a time when councils are struggling with their finances, funding the move to becoming a carbon-neutral council is seen as prohibitive by some councillors in Wales.
Corporate services director Rhian Hayden said: "The annual net zero report provides a summary of our progress in responding to the climate emergency over the last year."
"Our direct organisational carbon emissions have fallen to 10,680 tonnes, which is a six per cent fall compared to the previous year and a cumulative 28 per cent reduction over the six years since the baseline in 2019/2020."
"It represents significant improvement based primarily on reductions in energy use, which have also realised financial savings for the council – however, there are significant challenges in terms of further replacement of council assets with ultra-low carbon alternatives that will require significant investment."
Timeline questioned
Labour councillor for Abertillery and Six Bells, Cllr Keith Chaplin, questioned how much longer it would take for the council to ultimately achieve Net Zero status. Cllr Chaplin asked: "Is there a rough guide – would it be 2040 or 2050?".
Policy officer Daniel Wheelock responded: "We have had a pretty consistent pace over the first six years of this policy and there's no reason why we can't at least maintain that level of reduction."
He outlined that there were "very big barriers" stemming from expense and technology, including transitioning the recycling and refuse collection vehicle fleet to electric alternatives and installing heat pumps to replace heating systems in council buildings. Mr Wheelock clarified that the majority of these assets would require natural replacement within the coming "10 to 20 years".
Funding concerns
Mr Wheelock added: "That might be a realistic timescale but it's difficult to say as we haven't done a detailed study."
Cllr Chaplin noted that the report indicated the council requires £52m to decarbonise its estate. Cllr Chaplin said: "Given the council's financial position, what proportion of this funding has been identified and how confident are officers that it can be secured?".
Mr Wheelock replied: "We would be replacing those assets anyway. So it's not £52 million in new spending, as if we didn't replace boilers with heat pumps, we'd just be replacing them with new boilers." He acknowledged that calculations had not yet been completed to establish the additional cost of replacing assets with carbon-neutral options.
Councillors later approved the report.
