Lake District National Park Partnership
24 September June 2012
Agenda Item: 6 (d)
Page 1
A CARBON BUDGET FOR THE LAKE DISTRICT: PROGRESS REPORT AND FUTURE
ACTION
1
SUMMARY
1.1
In 2010, the LDNPP committed to measuring and managing carbon emissions in the
Lake District, through setting a ‘carbon budget’ for the National Park. There have
been some excellent carbon saving initiatives to date, which have contributed to the
Partnership’s economic and social goals too. However, we are not yet meeting our
targets. This paper and the attached document set out the progress that the
Partnership has made, and suggests how the work can be taken forward.
Recommendation
that the Partnership:
a
Notes the progress made to date on the carbon budget –
shown in ANNEX1
b
Agrees priorities for further action to achieve carbon
savings; and
delegates to the Climate Change Sub-Group
responsibility for developing an action plan to be
presented at a future meeting of The Partnership
c
2
BACKGROUND
2.1
The Lake District National Park Partnership is committed to leading the way on
climate change. The Lake District is one of the first local areas to set itself a carbon
budget, as part of our Low-carbon Lake District initiative.
2.2
The principle behind a carbon budget is simple: like a financial budget, we aim to find
out how much carbon the Lake District is responsible for, and then reduce the
carbon ‘spend’ year on year.
2.3
We aim to reduce the emission of carbon and other greenhouse gases, measured on
a consumption basis, by 1% per year, against a baseline of 2.3 million tonnes in
2010. The target tracks the national carbon budget, as set out in the 2008 Climate
Change Act.
2.4
The baseline was established through a carbon footprint analysis in 2010. This
analysis, together with regular updates on progress, is available at
www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/carbonbudget .
3
PARTNERSHIP PLAN CONTEXT
3.1
The Carbon Budget, and associated target, was agreed by Partners in 2010, as part
of the Partnership Plan, so it has been in place for two years. At the June 2012
Partnership meeting, it was identified as one of seven key priorities for the
Partnership over the year ahead.
3.2
Progress is overseen by the Climate Change Sub-Group of the Partnership, and is
reported to the full Partnership in March and September each year.
3.3
An update on Carbon Budget progress to date is shown in ANNEX 1. We have
identified carbon savings in the region of 16000 tonnes, thanks to some excellent
projects, which have associated benefits including cost-saving, social benefits and
business improvement. However, we are not yet meeting the target of 1% carbon
savings per year, or 46000 tonnes.
Lake District National Park Partnership
24 September June 2012
Agenda Item: 6 (d)
Page 2
4
PROPOSALS
4.1
At this meeting, the Partnership will receive a presentation on progress against the
target, in order to develop a shared understanding. Partners will be asked to begin to
prioritise areas for future work, in order to achieve the target set.
5
NEXT STEPS
5.1
Following the full Partnership discussion, proposals for action will be developed by
the Climate Change SubGroup, and by individual organisations within the
Partnership. A full report and action plan will be brought to a subsequent meeting of
the Partnership.
6
FINANCE CONSIDERATIONS
6.1
Most projects designed to reduce carbon will have significant financial benefits to
Partners and to the wider community. For example, helping tourism businesses to
improve their energy efficiency can result in significant reductions in energy bills.
However, such projects require funding, and this may mot be available within Partners’
core budgets. External funding sources will be considered as part of the process of
developing the action plan, and the advice of the External Funding Group of the
Partnership will be sought.
Background Papers
Author/Post
Date Written
Carbon Budget Progress July 2012
Becky Willis
12 September 2012
Lake District National Park Partnership
24 September 2012
Agenda Item: 6 (e)
Annex 1 Page 1
ANNEX 1:
A Carbon Budget for the Lake District National Park:
Progress report, July 2012
The Lake District National Park Partnership is committed to leading the way on climate
change. The Lake District is one of the first local areas to set itself a carbon budget, as part
of our Low-carbon Lake District initiative.
The principle behind a carbon budget is simple: like a financial budget, we aim to find out
how much carbon the Lake District is responsible for, and then reduce the carbon ‘spend’
year on year.
We aim to reduce the emission of carbon and other greenhouse gases, measured on a
consumption basis, by 1% per year, against a baseline of 2.3 million tonnes in 2010. The
target tracks the national carbon budget, as set out in the 2008 Climate Change Act.
The baseline was established through a carbon footprint analysis in 2010. This analysis,
together with regular updates on progress, is available at
www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/carbonbudget .
Progress is reported in February and July each year, to inform the Partnership’s March and
September meetings, and the revision of the Partnership’s Plan each September.
Progress so far this year
An audit of all the projects in the Lake District National Park has identified measurable
carbon savings of nearly 16000 tonnes of savings, using optimistic assumptions. This is an
increase on previous years, showing that we are moving in the right direction, thanks to
some excellent initiatives by Partners. However, we are not meeting the target.
Savings have come from across the Partnership, in areas including home energy efficiency,
advice to businesses, travel advice for visitors, renewable energy developments, and
promotion of local, seasonal food and drink. The biggest savings came from advice to
businesses by CBEN (Cumbria Business and Environment Network), saving 2000 tonnes;
the Cumbria Warm Homes Project, offering energy efficiency checks to householders,
saving 5600 tonnes; small-scale renewable energy developments, saving 1527 tonnes; and
the Taste Cumbria programme, promoting local food and drink, saving an estimated 911
tonnes.
The GoLakes Travel project, which is expected to deliver significant carbon savings, has
been in the development phase, so has not yet resulted in savings. However, initiatives now
under way will result in savings in the next assessment period.
There are a number of actions which will result in carbon savings, but can’t be easily
estimated. For example, the switch to superfast broadband may result in reduced business
travel, but we don’t have a good way of estimating savings.
In addition, land management activities including woodland management and tree planting,
as well as peatland restoration, have a carbon benefit, and work is underway to obtain the
data needed to measure this, to include in calculations of carbon savings.
Lake District National Park Partnership
24 September 2012
Agenda Item: 6 (e)
Annex 1 Page 2
Progress against the target
Although we are seeing an increase in carbon savings, we are not yet on track to meet the
target of 1% savings per year. We are saving nearly 16000 tonnes. To hit the target of 2%
after two years, we should be saving 46000 tonnes. The table and graph below shows our
performance against the target.
date
01/11/2010
01/02/2011
01/11/2011
01/07/2012
target reduction
(tonnes)
0
23000
23000
46000
target reduction
(%)
0%
1%
1%
2%
actual reduction
(tonnes)
0
9249
14000
15985
Actual carbon reductions (using optimistic assumptions) compared to target reductions
actual reduction
(%)
0
0.40%
0.61%
0.70%
Lake District National Park Partnership
24 September 2012
Agenda Item: 6 (e)
Annex 1 Page 3
Where have the savings come from?
The chart and table below shows where savings have come from, with the biggest savings
coming from improvements to home energy efficiency, and savings in accommodation, food
and drink.
Optimistic Mid Range
Categories
Home Energy
Travel
Accommodation, food and
drink
Renewables
Public Sector
Still to come
Total
t CO2e
% of
baseline
t CO2e
% of
baseline
6,663
0.29%
6,311
0.27%
2,703
0.12%
1,625
0.07%
3,894
0.17%
3,306
0.14%
1,725
0.08%
1,527
0.07%
1,000
0.04%
750
0.03%
30,015
46,000
32,480
0.70%
46,000
0.59%
Lake District National Park Partnership
24 September 2012
Agenda Item: 6 (e)
Annex 1 Page 4
Further actions
If we are to achieve the target of 1% reductions per year, the pace of change will have to
accelerate. The new Partnership Plan outlines how this will be achieved. There is a
commitment to:
 Developing a shared Partnership understanding of the carbon budget, sources of carbon
emissions and identify priority actions to reduce emissions
 Agreeing an action plan to reduce carbon emissions
 Monitoring progress on reducing carbon emissions and reporting to the Partnership
every six months the carbon budget target for the National Park of 1% reduction (per
year) and report to LDNPP every six months
The Climate Change subgroup of the LDNP Partnership have identified a range of possible
areas for carbon saving, and work currently underway by Partners which contributes toward
this target.
Becky Willis, September 2012