Major new report provides roadmap towards Oxfordshire’s zero-carbon future

The first comprehensive review of Oxfordshire’s progress towards tackling the climate and ecological emergency and creating a greener, healthier county has been published by sustainability charity Bioregional.

The report measures progress against 20 key outcomes agreed in 2018 by over 100 stakeholders from across the county as part of Bioregional’s One Planet Oxfordshire initiative. It finds that progress has been made against at least half of the 20 outcomes over the past few years.

For example:

• Every local authority in the County has declared a climate emergency and set targets for its operations being carbon neutral, with all but West Oxfordshire setting targets for their

• districts to be net-zero;

• Some headway has been made against these targets. Oxford City and districts must cut carbon emissions by around 13% a year in order to meet the County’s 2050 target for net-zero;

• Oxfordshire remains one of the best-performing county waste disposal authorities in the country, with a recycling rate of 57.2%. The amount of waste going to landfill has been cut from 19% in 2015 to just 5% in 2019.

Nicole Lazarus, Head of One Planet Living at Bioregional says: “Oxfordshire continues to be a powerhouse of research, ingenuity and thought leadership. From zero-carbon projects such as Oxford’s Energy Superhub project and the forthcoming Zero Emissions Zone, to UK-leading recycling and composting rates, Oxfordshire has much to be proud of. But let’s not forget we are in an emergency situation – we need to rapidly step up our efforts across the county if we are to achieve our goal of One Planet Living.”

Supported by the County Council, the report, ‘One Planet Oxfordshire – a review of progress towards One Planet Living’, can be downloaded HERE.

You can read more on this story via Business & Innovation Magazine or listen to the story as it featured on Jack FM HERE