Flintshire county GHG emissions

Flintshire county has seen an overall reduction in GHG emissions since 2005 as shown in Figure 6. The emissions during this time have had periods of increase specifically around 2011/12 and 2017/18.

Show/hide table of data: Flintshire County GHG Emissions by Sector

Figure 7 provides a further breakdown of the emission sources that contribute to the County’s overall GHG emissions from 2014-2018*.  Largest contributors to this footprint are large industrial installations and road transport. There are significant industrial areas in the county including Deeside, and the heavily used coast road also runs the length of the county.

Flintshire County Council is responsible for approximately 3% of the County’s GHG emissions.

There are a number of actions that can be taken by the Council to reduce GHG emissions from the wider county. Through its leadership role, the Council can steer and influence as well as inspire individual and collective action and responsibility. Many actions such as rolling out electric vehicle charging infrastructure require a joined up, common approach which can only be brought about through joint working across boundaries.

However, collaboration and partnership working will be vital as many GHG emission sources lie outside of the Council’s control and will therefore require cross sector input.

These are the actions within the key themes that do not contribute to our direct carbon footprint but that we can deliver in order to engage, influence and empower others.

We are reducing our energy consumption and emissions from homes and businesses in Flintshire by promoting energy efficiency measures, sustainable construction, renewable energy source, and behaviour change.

• Decarbonising the local energy system by leading on our actions within the Flintshire Local Area Energy Plan (LAEP)
• Implementing a Housing Decarbonisation Strategy for the decarbonisation of Council homes in line with Welsh Government guidance to ensure optimised thermal efficiency, minimised cost of heating, and adapting for the future.
• Support Town & Community Councils to reduce operation’s emissions and engage with our building users to encourage positive behaviour change
•  Continue to deliver programmes with private households and local businesses to reduce fuel poverty and provide access to wider energy efficiency and renewable energy schemes.

• Promoting use of public transport, active travel, and further develop the Council’s walking and cycling network
• Promoting multi-modal transport journeys and the development of strategic transport hubs. Improve access to storage, charging and hiring facilities. 
• Consider opportunities with partners to enable greener fleet in the public transport sector (buses, rail, taxis) including Council contracted services such as school transport
• Ensure vehicle charging points are available at key areas across the county - rural and urban.

Supporting other landowners and the community to utilise green spaces and maximise carbon absorption.

• Working with Tenant farmers to share best practice on sustainable farming and increasing carbon absorption
• Exploring best practice policies and encourage provision of space for community food growing in new developments and vacant and under used sites
• Working with communities to increase biodiversity value and carbon storage
• Identifying opportunities to acquire new Council land for the purpose of carbon sequestration and biodiversity enhancement.

• Support Clwyd Pension Scheme to reduce emissions by divesting pensions and other investment portfolios away from fossil fuels in support of green energy.
• Issue communications, events and activities for both internal and external stakeholders to raise awareness of climate change, promote council progress, and to encourage wider climate action.