Norwich City Council’s impact on the climate
The council declared a climate emergency in 2019, and this was followed by publication of our Environmental Strategy 2020-25.
Norwich City Council is committed to achieving net zero emissions from its operations, with a target of 2030. For emissions from the council’s social housing estate, the net zero target is 2045.
The council began measuring its carbon emissions in 2007-08, and since then has reduced its operational emissions by 69.8%. In the 2023-24 financial year, the council’s total operational emissions were 3,218 tonnes CO2e, an 8.0% decrease on the previous year.
Projects commissioned by the council to reduce emissions include energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, such as installing an air source heat pump and solar panels on City Hall, and the recently completed significant solar installation at Riverside Leisure Centre. We also use a green energy tariff for all council operations.
The council will continue initiatives to reduce its carbon emissions, including upgrading to renewable heating systems in its buildings, completing further solar PV installations, and replacing its vehicle fleet.
The reports for our most recent carbon accounting exercises can be found below:
Graph 1: Total operational annual emissions in Kg CO2e for Norwich City Council 2007-24
Emissions from Norwich City
As a city, Norwich’s annual carbon emissions currently total 493,700 tonnes CO2e (based on the latest data available from 2022).
Spread out across Norwich’s current population of 144,000, this equates to 3.4 tonnes CO2e per person on average.
The council’s latest community-led plan includes ‘A Climate Responsive Norwich’ as one of the council’s priorities, with a net-zero target of 2045 for the city.
Achieving a net-zero Norwich will require the combined, coordinated effort of everyone in the city. Since 2007, Norwich’s carbon emissions have been falling whilst the population has been growing, and we want to build on this positive progress to protect our environment and communities.
Graph 2: Norwich's total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 2005-22
Towards Net Zero 2030
Although there has been much progress in reducing carbon emissions in Norwich, there’s still much more to do in order to reach our net-zero ambitions.
The council is preparing the replacement to its existing Environmental Strategy 2020-25, which will guide the net-zero journey of both the council and the city over the coming years.
From 2025 onwards the council will align its own emissions reporting with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHGP) international standard, tracking an increased range of emissions sources.
The council helped to establish Norwich Climate Commission to assist with the next stages of decarbonisation in the city, and is engaging with key stakeholders on its net-zero journey.
