New report on city's future to be released at Sheffield's first-ever climate summit
A public meeting this Friday will see the release of Pathways to Zero, which will guide the city's response to the climate crisis.
Sheffield's first-ever climate summit is taking place this Friday, and will see the launch of a new report detailing how the city can become carbon-neutral by 2030.
The Zero Carbon Sheffield Summit will be open to the public and will include a talk from report author Andy Sheppard of Arup as well as Kate Josephs, the new Chief Executive of the Council.
The report is expected to highlight the scale of changes needed for the city to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030, a goal set in 2019 that the Council says it is still committed to.
“We knew that zero carbon was an ambitious commitment and would be a challenge, but these reports give us a clear, evidenced-based route we can take to reduce emissions," said Cabinet Member for the Environment Mark Jones.
"We remain ambitious and will continue striving towards our target.
"The report will highlight three areas where the biggest reductions in emissions can be made in Sheffield:
- switching away from petrol or diesel cars
- replacing gas boilers with efficient heat pumps
- investing in buildings to save energy by reducing heat loss
The report will also explain how changing the way we travel, what we buy and throw away, and how business operates in the city will contribute to meeting the 2030 target.
Scientists around the world are now in agreement that if radical action isn't taken soon, the effects of climate change could be irreversible.
"Climate change impacts everyone and we all have to play our part in order to reach net-zero," said Andy Sheppard or Arup."
Employing city-wide solutions, driven by strong leadership, will enable Sheffield to make impactful emissions reductions and ingrain climate action into daily life," he continued.
"This report fires the starting gun for coordinated, comprehensive and continuous action on Sheffield’s journey to carbon neutrality.”
The first summit meeting will take place by Zoom between 12:30 and 2:30pm this Friday. The full Pathways to Zero report will be released online after the event.
