Oxfordshire tops the table for county councils tackling climate change
Oxfordshire is the best performing county council in the UK for tackling climate change, according to a survey by an environmental organisation.
Oxfordshire County Council was rated top in Climate Emergency UK’s (CEUK) 2023 climate action scorecard, which was published this week.
Councillor Pete Sudbury, Oxfordshire County Council’s Deputy Leader with responsibility for Climate Change and Environment, said: “Congratulations and thanks to outstanding work by officers right across the council, including our amazing climate team, and for support across the political spectrum for achieving this result.”
For the scorecard, CEUK assessed all UK councils on the actions they've taken towards net zero. The scorecard assessment consisted of up to 91 questions, depending on council type, across seven sections.
Each council was marked against these criteria before the scores underwent a final audit. This work was completed between January and August 2023.
Oxfordshire County Council is committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2030, significantly ahead of the national 2050 target. As well as this, it aims to enable Oxfordshire to become carbon neutral as early as possible in the 2040s.
It is also working in partnership with people and organisations right across the County to make Oxfordshire resilient to a changing climate.
Cllr Sudbury added: “There are two questions we need to keep asking: ‘What would we do if climate really was an emergency?...because it is'. And, ‘How do we keep our citizens safe, and our businesses and institutions working, as the impacts of extreme weather cause increasing damage, both locally and to our global supply chains?'
“These questions are at the forefront of our mind as a council and inform all the decisions we take. It is heartening to see that this work is being recognised.”
CEUK is a not for profit cooperative which has been working with councils and residents since 2019 to share best practice about what councils can do to tackle the climate and ecological emergency and to encourage effective action.
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