Prepare and implement a council net zero plan and lead the preparation of a Shetland net zero strategy involving community planning partners and a range of energy-focused businesses and organisations
Following the publication of two net zero route maps, the council set an organisational net zero target of 2045 at its meeting in November 2022. At the meeting, council staff were asked to develop a Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan for the council using the data and recommendations gathered through the net zero route map project and publish annual progress reports.
The two net zero route maps set out the measures that need to be taken for the council as an organisation and Shetland as an area to reduce emissions and reach net zero.
In addition, support was given to the Shetland Partnership Climate Change Steering Group to develop a Shetland Climate Change Strategy for all Shetland Partnership organisations to adopt.
Specific challenges for the council in its route map include the fact that many low carbon technologies are currently in their infancy and as such, it is not yet clear how technologies will develop, and therefore which will be the most appropriate for the council to adopt.
Another challenge, in respect of the wider Shetland Net Zero Route Map, is that, compared with other local authorities, Shetland is unique in terms of its unique location, environment, economy, underlying geology and soil conditions. What is also unusual is that for most local authorities, emissions are dominated by energy use in buildings and road transport, but in Shetland some of the largest sources of emissions are from land use, energy industries and agriculture.
In 2019-20, Shetland was responsible for emissions totalling 938,700 tCO2e. A significant portion of these emissions are associated with sectors that are difficult to electrify (for example, aviation and marine vessels) or are not associated with energy use at all (for example, land use and agriculture). At present, it is not clear whether there will be technologies available by 2045 that can mitigate these sources of emissions. The emissions profile in Shetland makes it unlikely that net zero can be achieved across all sectors without a systemic transition of the land uses, economy, consumer habits and social engagement and/or carbon capture and storage.
