The sectors where reducing emissions will have the biggest impact
Underpinned by data from the Summary of Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Cumbria Report, four priority emission areas for action have been driven forward through the work of the partnership:
Healthy soils and farmland for food, wildlife and flood resilience, supported by peatland restoration and planting.
Buying and using things in ways that are good for Cumbria’s economy and environment.
A fifth area, Industrial and manufacturing processes, wasn’t included directly in the work of the core Zero Carbon Cumbria programme but sits within the work of our partner Enterprising Cumbria, and through national industry decarbonisation programmes.
This pie chart shows how Cumbria’s priority emissions are split between the five areas: the four priority sectors and Industrial and manufacturing processes.
All figures in this pie chart are net emissions in 2019. For consistency, they have been calculated on a GWP100 basis.
For further detail, please see the Summary of Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Cumbria Report.
Includes domestic, public and commercial buildings and the emissions associated with the occupancy/operation of these buildings.
Includes all modes of public/private transport, including active travel and visitor travel. It also includes emissions from car manufacture and maintenance.
Includes emissions from degrading peat, farming and farm supply chains. It also includes carbon sequestration via woodlands, peatland restoration and improved management of soils and grasslands.
Emissions from household and visitor consumption of food and other products, including emissions associated with the supply chains.
Each of the sectors has a recommended trajectory of emission reduction, and it is the combined effort of reducing emissions across these sectors while increasing carbon sequestration that will enable Cumbria to reach net zero by 2037.
Net zero means that any irreducible emissions from transport, buildings, food production, consumption and other human activities are balanced by the removal of carbon from the atmosphere through trees, wetlands, improved soil management and other forms of carbon sequestration.
Four emissions sector groups have been established, comprising a wide range of organisations and individuals from across Cumbria who have expertise and interests in the activities that create the emissions within the priority areas. These groups have continued to meet regularly since April 2023 and have developed Emissions Reduction Pathways (ERPs) and Emission Reduction Action Plans (ERAPs) which set out how we can tackle the priority emissions associated with their sector by:
The Farming and other Land Use sector group has also assessed opportunities to increase carbon sequestration capacity.
The plans were launched in 2024 and each sector group remains active to keep the momentum going. The next phase of work is to progress the conversations that are being held with key stakeholders, and to bring new partners on board. We will continue to pull together the work which is already being undertaken, pushing for more urgent responses to key sector actions which don’t have people or organisations leading the way, and finding solutions to the challenges highlighted as part of the ERAPs.
The Sector Groups are keen to stay engaged with this phase of work to track and measure the progress of the action plans delivery against the targets that have been set. They will also continue to support, review and develop opportunities which will support the emission reduction pathway.
Find out more about each of the sectors and their Sector Groups below.
