Oxford delivers first plan for climate emergency

The authority plans to become net zero next year and will set a £19m ‘climate emergency budget’, it announced yesterday. The cash – £18m in investment and £1m in operational funding – comes on top of £84m already being invested to tackle the climate emergency in the city and Oxfordshire as a whole.

The council has also pledged to set a high standard of energy efficiency for new homes and community buildings, electrifying buses and taxis, installing renewables, boosting recycling and improving local biodiversity in response to the assembly’s final demands.