MEMBERS of Bridgend Council have been updated on the authority’s work to help tackle climate change with over £650,000 reportedly saved in addition to emission reductions since 2021.
The update came at a scrutiny committee held in February of 2025, where councillors were informed on what was being done to “mitigate and adapt to tackle climate change”.
The council first declared a climate emergency in June, 2020, establishing a climate change response programme which aimed to achieve net zero carbon emissions across its operations by 2030.
This aligns with the national Welsh Government target to achieve a carbon neutral public sector in the same space of time.
A report given by officers highlighted how work had been driven by the borough’s Climate Change Response Team with aims to improve energy efficiency in business, transport and homes.
Positive aspects of the report said that since 2021, the council’s consumption of gas had reduced by 12% and electricity by 8%, which had saved approximately £660,000 along with emission reductions.
It also said the majority of greenhouse gas emissions currently produced by BCBC came through “indirect emissions”, with the transport of goods, services, and business travel.
It added that in response work had been carried out to develop charging infrastructure for electric vehicles – though noted that currently only 12 public charge-points had been commissioned by the council, alongside 52 from the Cardiff Capital Region and 44 that were operated independently at locations such as supermarkets.
The report also discussed plans for halting and reversing the loss of nature across the borough as part of a Welsh Government goal to protect and manage at least 30% of the land and 30% of the sea in Wales, though it acknowledged that limited progress in this had so far been made.
It read: “This is a new report and Welsh Government have not yet responded to the report or the recommendations, so it is not yet clear what this could mean for local authorities going forward.
“What is clear, however, is that there is a significant challenge ahead and a great deal of work, commitment, and investment required to halt and reverse the loss of nature.”
Officers at the meeting took questions from local members with some referring to a recent public consultation where residents were said to have prioritised spending on services such as those for vulnerable children and adults, as well as highway repairs over spending on climate change.
In response they said that while this didn’t mean residents were not engaged with tackling climate change in the borough, at this moment in time they had simply prioritised other areas.
They added that an additional report on the council’s 2030 strategy was now expected to be completed in the coming months, which would shed more light on details of what the council had achieved in terms of its net zero targets, how realistic its ambitions were, and what would be needed to move it on.
