A CONSERVATIVE-led local authority, criticised for pushing back proposals to make the council carbon neutral by 20 years, has unveiled “an ambitious and forward-looking” climate change strategy.

Darlington Borough Council, which cut its carbon footprint from 13,100 to 8,197 tonnes CO2e over nine years to 2019 despite increasing its energy use, has laid out its targets to make the authority zero carbon before 2050.

The strategy will be underpinned by targets to reduce energy consumption, cut demand for fossil fuel-based energy, contribute to a greener grid and capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to slow or reverse atmospheric CO2 pollution and to mitigate or reverse global warming.

In papers being presented to a cabinet meeting of the council next week, the authority said when calculating its carbon footprint, both its actual energy usage and where it sourced electricity would be taken into account.

A report to the meeting warns of “increasing public pressure to take action on climate change”, and states the council runs the risk of significant damage to its reputation if it does not deliver on its pledge last summer to deal with the council’s contribution to climate change.

Councillor Alan Marshall, the authority’s economy cabinet member, said the strategy was ambitious and forward-looking, but for some people the change would not be sufficiently rapid.

He said the council was already pursuing “quick wins”, such as planting trees, appointing a climate change champion in every department of the council and offering environmental education courses to staff.

Cllr Marshall added the council would be looking to make the most of the government’s apparent appetite for environmental initiatives.

He said: “The hard part is yet to come. The next step will be to start looking at things in detail, such as costs, resources and timescales. A lot of things we are going to do have financial implications. We are going to need financial support to do everything that we want to do.”

The authority’s Green Party leader, Councillor Matthew Snedker, who helped shape the strategy, said it was just the “foundation stone for future work” and there was an array of measures the authority could pursue, particularly during the planning of housing developments.

He said: “The intention of the climate emergency motion last year was to focus minds on what is an emergency and a threat to the safety and wellbeing of the people of Darlington. It’s important that we as a council do the right thing and are seen to be doing the right thing and lead the community.”