Extract from ABC News
A city surrounded by deep-cut coal pits with a centuries-old mining history is now trying to build a very different legacy for itself – as one of the world’s first carbon-neutral cities.
Key points:
- Nottingham in England's Midlands is undergoing a major identity transformation in order to achieve carbon neutrality by 2028
- The former coal heartland could be one of the first cities in the world to achieve net zero
- The city is aiming to reduce its carbon emissions by 12.5 per cent a year to reach target
Nottingham might be best known around the world as the home of legendary outlaw Robin Hood, but in more modern times it has been one of the UK's coal heartlands.
The enormous coal-fired power station built down the road from the city served as an unofficial landmark for the East Midlands region and powered millions of homes for many years.
But the local industry fell into decline in the 1980s and now the UK is just years away from its 2024 target of abandoning coal-generated power.
The city is now undergoing a major identity transformation, with the local council putting forward a 270-point plant to achieve carbon neutrality by 2028.
If it works, Nottingham will be one of the first cities in the world to achieve this, and many are convinced it will.
"I've seen it change a lot over the decades ... this was once a place where thousands of men worked digging coal," mining historian and Nottingham resident Norma Gregory told the ABC.
Her family lived and worked in the community around the Gedling Colliery, just a few miles from the centre of Nottingham, which she said was often nicknamed "the pit of nations" due to its multicultural workforce.
"When I was going to school, I used to see men and machinery working on the hill ... it was just a hive of activity," she said.
"It was a massive disruption [when the mine shut], many thousands lost their jobs … the area went into decline in some parts."
It has been exactly 30 years since the mine was closed as part of a nationwide abandonment of the local coal industry in favour of cheaper imports.
Today only a few relics of the Gedling Colliery site remain, and it has been regenerated by the Gedling Borough Council into a sprawling park.
The three pillars of the net zero plan
In Nottingham city centre there are more signs of the transformation taking place – a sprawling electric tram network, biogas buses on the streets, and solar panels adorning historic buildings.
The man helping drive the change at the Nottingham City Council concedes the plan is "ambitious".
"I think we've got a fantastic opportunity to be the first carbon-neutral city in the UK … but there's lots of work to do," Wayne Bexton, the council's Director of Carbon Reduction, Energy and Sustainability said.
"Copenhagen is aiming to get there by 2025, so if we both achieve our goals, we will be the happy runner-up."
According to 2017 council estimates the city emitted 1.17 million tonnes of CO2, enough to drive the average car 6 billion miles.
To reach the 2028 goal Nottingham is aiming to cut emissions by about 12.5 per cent each year from its 2019 baseline, Mr Bexton said.
The city has so far cut down its emissions by 53 per cent on 2005 baseline levels, but he said the they "now have to see a fast-tracking to achieve the [2028] target".
Nottingham's plan is centred around reducing emissions in three key areas: transport systems, residential homes and commercial industries and businesses.
Currently
about 35 per cent of emissions come from residents and their
properties, so retrofitting its housing stock has become a huge part of
the council's mission.
The process sees older council-owned homes fitted with new insulation systems and connected to renewable power sources.
Richard Shaw's home is one of hundreds undergoing redesign.
He says it has made such a difference that he now feels like "he's on holiday in Australia" inside his own home.
Like many residents, his family are connected to the mining industry, but he has come around on the council's new strategy.
"It's good for the hip pocket too, cheaper energy bills, so you can't really complain, can you?"
Tackling transport emissions is another huge mission for the council. Transport currently contributes about 30 per cent of the city's emissions.
The council is increasing the public transport network, which is mostly electric or biogas vehicles, and ensuring all taxis are also electric vehicles.
Installing charging points all around the city is another way they are trying to encourage more residents to make the switch to greener cars.
One of the biggest challenges is trying to get all buildings and businesses running on renewables by the 2028 target, as commercial industries account for the remaining 35 per cent of emissions.
"The sector is very supportive … we've had 53 businesses now in the city commit to achieving carbon neutrality by 2028, as well as both universities," Mr Bexton said.
Offsetting emissions with new green spaces and plantings will also help the council reach its final goal.
The green switch both intentional and involuntary
Nottingham took its plans to the COP26 climate talks in Scotland to show other cities how they can drive their own green future.
Cities cover about 3 per cent of the Earth's surface, yet they create more than 70 per cent of all carbon emissions, according to UN estimates.
Around the world other major cities like Mumbai, London and Los Angeles are aiming to become carbon-neutral by mid-century.
But, swapping to locally produced renewable energy is not just an ideological move in Nottingham.
It is also born out of necessity, as the local coal-fired power plant is due to be decommissioned in three years, while the UK government has also promised to end the country's reliance on fossil fuel.
The
Ratcliffe-on-Soar station still stands tall over the region, but now
operates at minimal capacity, with the operator planning to move to
low-carbon power generation in the future.
The UK has pledged to end its use of unabated coal-power production by 2024, but that is looking tougher than ever.
The country is struggling through a post-pandemic power shortage and surging global gas prices, which led national energy providers to switch on a dormant coal power station in West Yorkshire a few months ago.
Still, on average, the UK government claims coal power accounts for just 1-3 per cent of national energy.
A large proportion comes from another fossil fuel, natural gas, and a portion from wind and other renewables like solar.
"That has only galvanised us more in what we're trying to achieve, we're looking at renewable energy being the primary source for power in the city," Mr Bexton said.
"Currently around a quarter of our energy demands in the city come from renewable generation within Nottingham.
"So we need to move further and faster."
Meanwhile, for residents like Norma Gregory, the city's transformation is cause for optimism.
"I think the history of mining and the mining legacy will always be, but people are embracing the change," she said.
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