Progress towards Sefton Council's net zero transition has stalled in the past year, according to an update on its climate emergency strategy. At a Regulatory, Compliance and Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting on Tuesday, councillors expressed disappointment at the news and discussed how further carbon emission reductions can be achieved.
Current Emission Reduction Status
Sefton Council declared a climate emergency in July 2019 and set a strategy to hit net zero by 2030. So far, emissions have been cut by 43%, or 4,854 tonnes of CO2. However, in 2025/6, the council only reduced its emissions by 16 tonnes, a negligible amount in percentage terms. The council achieved a 41% reduction in emissions in the four years after announcing its target, primarily through a switch to a clean energy tariff, but then managed only a 2% cut in 2024/5.
Challenges and Barriers
In a report on the subject, the council stated: “This plateau reflects the increasing difficulty of decarbonising remaining emissions and the need for continued action. Limited council budgets remain a significant barrier to delivering key climate projects at the pace required to reach net zero by 2030.” Sefton Council is now looking to work with partners to secure more external funding, as well as exploring carbon offsetting opportunities and continuing efforts to decarbonise its fleet.
Speaking at Tuesday’s meeting, Lib Dem councillor for Meols ward Daniel Lewis said: “I was a little bit devastated reading this report to see where we are at the minute. We had 11 years or something at the beginning to get there. We’ve got four or so years left and we’re not yet half way. Last year’s 16 tonne reduction, if we carried on at that rate, it would take to somewhere in the 2400s. So I’m hoping we’re going to accelerate beyond that.”
Labour councillor for Great Crosby Leslie Byrom said: “It’s very interesting to be able to monitor and see the development over years to track it. Because in 2019 when this started, little did we know that then over the horizon came COVID. And that taught us a lot in terms of working from home, remotely, you know, so, we went through a phase.” He added that he thinks “we’re just coming up to a phase change” as different technologies such as heat pumps and electric vehicles begin to yield results in terms of cutting carbon emissions. “It’ll come, but it’s not there now. We are into a process. We’re well into it. We’re well into it in terms of the knowledge that we have, and the aspirations that we have. The technology is rising. It’s not there yet. I think in terms of a climate emergency, it still is an emergency, but I think in the last 10 years, we’ve started to see what it is that we need to do.”
Funding and Projects
Waterloo Green councillor Neil Doolin asked what the funding environment is looking like currently in terms of money for climate-related projects. Ms Jukes said: “In terms of the funding landscape, we are really waiting for government to announce particularly what sort of funding is going to come through from the Warm Homes Plan.” Labour councillor for Thornton and Hightown Dominic McNabb asked why progress has stalled. He added: “My understanding is that it’s the decarbonisation of buildings, which is where we’re going. Is that what the delay has been, or is it been through funding, or other matters?”
Ms Jukes responded: “Part of it is because there were delays in some of the project delivery around the buildings. We thought we would have achieved greater carbon savings sooner, but because those projects, they are quite large, complicated delivery pieces, they’re only going to start to deliver carbon savings from this year onwards. That’s why there isn’t that projected drop. Also the government has removed some of the future public sector decarbonisation funding, so we are awaiting news in terms of is there going to be a replacement.”
Carbon Footprint Breakdown
The local authority’s carbon footprint is primarily driven by gas usage, making up 42% of the total, the diesel used by the operational fleet (27%), staff commuting (14%), home working (13%) and then business travel (4%). Commuting emissions increased by 18% in 2025/6 and home working emissions declined by 19%, reflecting a shift towards greater office presence. Since 2019, the council has cut gas emissions by 14% and electricity by 58%, mostly as a result of a borough-wide LED street lighting installation.
Ongoing Initiatives
Despite the plateau in its decarbonisation efforts in 2025/6, the council did start and/or complete several projects aimed at advancing its net zero goals. For example, work to decarbonise Bootle Library is nearing completion, and since January, the Meadows Leisure Centre in Maghull has been equipped with an additional 108kW solar array to generate renewable energy. It is projected that this will save 12 tonnes of CO2 a year. The Dunes Leisure Centre in Southport has also had a 124kW solar array fitted, which is projected to save 16 tonnes a year. The council has also invested in providing better insulation and low carbon heating systems in its buildings, and is expecting to see the results of this in 2026/7.
Sefton Council also pointed to initiatives like community gardens, rainwater gardens in local primary schools and Formby Library being the first in the UK to put bee hives in place. Ms Jukes said at Tuesday’s meeting that while the council tracks its decarbonisation progress primarily by looking at its own operations, it would also like to work on cutting domestic gas consumption. She said: “It could be just a campaign to encourage people to do really simple steps to save gas. I think that probably people are aware, but it’s just that reminder that sometimes really small individual actions can have a significant joint impact.”
