{"id":41901,"date":"2025-01-17T16:18:55","date_gmt":"2025-01-17T16:18:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=41901"},"modified":"2025-01-17T16:18:56","modified_gmt":"2025-01-17T16:18:56","slug":"ihbc-features-heritage-from-the-doorstep-council-aims-to-go-beyond-net-zero-by-removing-carbon-emissions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=41901","title":{"rendered":"IHBC features \u2018Heritage from the doorstep\u2019: Council aims to go beyond net zero by removing carbon emissions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Oxfordshire County Council has become the first local authority in the UK to set a target of going beyond net zero when it comes to carbon emissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Oxfordshire County Council writes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The council\u2019s cabinet today committed itself to extending the current carbon neutral target for its own estate and move into carbon dioxide removal. Councillor Dr Pete Sudbury, Deputy Leader of Oxfordshire County Council with Responsibility for Climate Change, Environment and Future Generations, said: \u2018Even when the UK signed up for net zero in 2019, we knew that wouldn’t be enough. Since then, things have got a lot worse, as we can see almost every day on screens or in our real lives. The uncomfortable reality is that negative emissions \u2013 actively removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere \u2013 are the last throw of the dice, as we struggle to control the escalating damage from extreme weather, but the supply chains aren’t growing nearly fast enough. Alongside aggressive action to end the burning of fossil fuels, building those supply chains in time is a \u2018do not fail\u2019, and starting now with small investments makes a big difference in the next 10 years. Today’s decision marks a point where we, in Oxfordshire, take a leadership role in this area.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government recently pledged nearly \u00a322 billion for two \u2018carbon capture clusters\u2019 on Merseyside and Teesside, over the next 25 years, to store carbon emissions from energy, industry and hydrogen production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cllr Sudbury explained: \u2018There are concerns that this investment is simply a way of extending the life of fossil fuels in industry. This is not what we should be using carbon capture for. It needs to be used to take down the carbon dioxide that is already there and that needs to go hand in hand with ending the use of fossil fuels as fast as possible \u2013 not subsidising their continuation.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The council\u2019s cabinet also agreed to support recommendations to rapidly scale the market for carbon dioxide removal through the council\u2019s policy making and partnership activity, to help grow this underdeveloped market. The council will also work with partners to look at ways this initiative can benefit rural economies and support adaptation to an already changing climate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The three methods of securing negative emissions most applicable to Oxfordshire are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n