A STUDY has looked at how 'green' Oxfordshire is compared to the rest of the UK.

The Government has announced a range of new policies as part of its aim to significantly cut carbon emissions and tackle climate change.

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Its long-awaited net zero strategy, outlining plans to meet legal targets to end its contribution to climate change by 2050, has been published ahead of crucial UN Cop26 climate talks in Glasgow.

Among the key policies are an expansion of the electric vehicle network and new measures to encourage renewable heating in homes.

But what progress has Oxfordshire made with green initiatives so far?

Electric vehicle charging

Oxford Mail:

Figures show Oxfordshire is ahead of many other parts of Great Britain with the pace of its EV charging point rollout.

Statistics from the Department for Transport show there were 310 public charging points in Oxfordshire at the start of October – up from 240 a year before.

At a rate of 44 per 100,000 people, this is above the UK average, of 39.

Since October 2019 – when figures began at local authority level – the number of devices in Oxfordshire has risen by 114.

Across the UK, an additional 10,800 devices were made available over the same period, taking the total number to 25,900 by October.

The Government's net zero strategy included an announcement of £620 million for electric vehicle grants to support the rollout of charging infrastructure nationally.

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Renewable heating

Oxford Mail:

Households will also be able to benefit from £5,000 government grants to install low-carbon heating systems as part of plans to cut emissions from homes.

The £450 million Boiler Upgrade Scheme – which opens from April next year – will help homeowners to swap their gas boiler for a more efficient air source heat pump.

It will launch at the same time as a similar programme, the Renewable Heat Incentive, closes to new applicants.

People who join the domestic version of the RHI receive quarterly payments for the amount of clean, green renewable heat it is estimated their system produces.

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Data from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy shows 94,000 renewable heating systems had been installed across Great Britain through RHI by the end of September – 15 per cent more than September 2020.

Of these, 1,554 have been installed in Oxfordshire, helping to pay for 93,382 megawatts per hour of energy.

That is an increase of 18 per cent on the 1,322 systems installed by September last year, meaning Oxfordshire is moving at a faster pace than the national average.

An extension to the Energy Company Obligation scheme, which aims to reduce carbon emissions and help people at risk of fuel poverty by making energy firms install heat-saving measures, has also been announced.

BEIS data shows 2.3 million homes across Great Britain had been fitted with ECO measures by the end of June – with 11,383 of these in Oxfordshire.

The net zero plans also include other multi-million pound investments to develop new clean technologies, help green hydrogen projects get off the ground and create woodland.

Officials insisted the strategy will deliver on commitments to cut greenhouse gases by 68 per cent by 2030.

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