In January 2007 Fife Council signed up to Scotland’s Climate Change Declaration. This was reaffirmed in February 2018 while committing to the global Covenant of Mayors. Becoming a Covenant of Mayors signatory commits Fife Council to:
- Carry out a Baseline Emissions Inventory and a Climate Change Risk and Vulnerability Assessment;
- Submit a Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan within two years following the above date of the council decision;
- Report progress at least every second year following the submission of the Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan for evaluation, monitoring and verification purposes.
The Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 committed Scotland to a 42% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2020 and 80% reduction by 2050. We are committed to reducing carbon emissions and adapting to unavoidable climate change.
Fife Council’s Carbon Footprint
We report on our progress through Pubic Bodies Duties Reporting (PBDR). Through this we measure Fife Council’s Carbon Footprint. As can be seen, most of our carbon footprint is from buildings energy. We are tackling this through a range of measures including:
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- Building efficiency improvement works – reducing gas consumption by improving building fabric, better heating controls, implementing Building Energy Management System or upgrading and replacing heating systems
- Light Fife Green – replacing conventional streetlights with low energy LED lights
- Fleet rationalisation – reducing the council’s transport emissions
Fife Council’s Carbon Management Plan
In March 2https://www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/sustainability-climate-change/sustainable-scotland-network/climate-change-reporting/climate-change-reports/019 Fife Council launched its first Carbon Management Plan, with progress tracked through the Duties reporting. The Plan provides strategic direction for Fife Council’s decarbonisation and ensures that the carbon emission trajectory assists in discharging obligations with regard to national and international law. Fife Council’s Carbon Management Plan will:
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- provide baseline information on Fife Council’s carbon footprint and to document trends in energy / fuel consumption and associated emissions;
- set clear guiding principles for carbon management activities between now and 2050;
- identify what Fife Council’s future emissions trajectory should be to achieve the Council’s share of national carbon reduction targets; and
- provide an Action Plan, outlining action being undertaken to meet the targets.