Hounslow Council Set to Ditch Net Zero Targets

Report acknowledges that some objectives unlikely to be met

The council has achieved some reductions by installing solar panels at schools and leisure centres

January 20, 2025

Hounslow Council is set to wind back on some of the targets it set itself as part of its broader aim of being carbon neutral and ultimately zero-carbon.

A Climate Emergency was declared in the borough in June 2019 at a time when Hounslow’s carbon dioxide output was measured at 72,198 tonnes but this had only fallen to 67,267 tonnes in the last financial year a reduction of just 7%

An annual report on progress on the Climate Emergency Plan is due to be presented to the council’s cabinet by Cllr Katherine Dunne, Cabinet Member for Climate, Environment and Transport, on Tuesday 21 January.

The report acknowledges that the target of a 50% reduction in operational emissions by 2026 will not be met and the focus should be on the deliverability of net zero by 2030. Changes to the way the target is measured and its scope are also recommended, effectively to make it more achievable.

It is contended that the baseline calculation for emissions was inaccurate and therefore tracking reductions is difficult and potentially misleading.

One proposal is to remove emissions from social housing from the calculation. Originally it was intended to achieve an average Energy Performance Certificate rating of B across the council’s housing stock by 2030 but currently only 3% is at this target. Further assessment has concluded that it is no longer financially viable to achieve this aim and is not ‘necessary’ to achieve net zero. EPC ratings indicate better insulation for housing stock and can help to reduce energy bills for tenants.

The recommendations of the report have been criticised by the Conservative opposition which is pointing out that the previous climate targets were part of Labour’s election manifesto in 2022.

Cllr Dunne said after the publication of the report, “Hounslow has made no secret of our goal to reduce emissions to create a cleaner, greener borough.

“To highlight that ambition, we set ourselves tough targets from the outset and have strived to achieve them.

“Indeed, we have a strong record of reducing waste and decarbonising our buildings and fleet as well as encouraging businesses and residents to follow suit.

“Obviously, we are disappointed at missing this interim target, but we are already making good progress to reach our ultimate goal of net zero emissions by 2030.

“To that end we are close to completing our survey of council owned buildings ahead of improvements; busy ensuring our vehicle fleet is emissions free; and we are talking with suppliers to see how they can help us reach target.”

Cllr Gabriella Giles (Conservative Councillor for Chiswick Riverside) said, “Hounslow’s Labour administration has been pulling figures and targets out of thin air for years, and this U-Turn represents an acknowledgement of just how unrealistic those targets were. Opposition councillors have been warning for years that these targets were unachievable and, instead of working with us to find realistic goals for net-zero, the council has thrown large amounts of money at projects that they now admit could never have worked. This is an embarrassing back-pedalling from this council, and we will all now pay the cost for both money spent trying to achieve these unworkable targets, and the commissioning of more consultants to set out new ambitions which may or may not be deliverable.”

Conservative Councillor for Chiswick Homefields, Jack Emsley, added, “This latest environmental backtracking is an embarrassment for Hounslow’s Labour administration, who just over a year ago boasted that they were ‘doers not delayers’. This is yet another example of the environmental hypocrisy of Hounslow Labour: they backed ULEZ but asked for an exemption for their own vehicles; they called for more money to be spent on protecting our environment but are proposing hundreds of thousands of pounds of cuts to Hounslow’s environment budget; and now they are watering down key net-zero targets despite calling on the previous government to be bolder on their own net-zero timelines. As is becoming a habit for this Labour council, it’s one rule for them, and another rule for the rest of us.”