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Climate change

The Council has a target to reduce its own greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2040. That means that we are using less gas and electricity from the grid, using solar panels and air source heat pumps to generate our own electricity, and gradually switching to electric vehicles. We are also making sure that our parks and green spaces are using grasses and plants that can capture carbon emissions from the air and store it in the soil.

In July 2025, the Council passed a motion declaring a nature recovery emergency, to sit alongside our existing climate emergency. A joint strategy has been produced, recognising that the two areas are inextricably linked. There will be a separate action plan for climate change and nature recovery. The existing climate change action plan is being revised and the nature recovery action plan will be developed over the next 6-9 months and will include public consultation.

Our plans

If you would prefer an Easy Read version of the strategy, with ideas of how you can help yourself and others, please follow this link.

Our progress

Climate change is one of three core principles in our Council Plan 2024 2027, which sets out our long-term vision, ambitions and priorities for Darlington.

The Climate Change Act includes a section allowing the Secretary of State to order organisations to report on how they are preparing for climate change. This is called the Adaptation Reporting Power. Local authorities have never been included in this, but in 2025 we took part in a pilot project and submitted our report Arp Report Pilot [pdf document].

In 2024, we commissioned a carbon audit of council land Darlington The Report V2 [pdf document], to see how much carbon is being stored. We are the first local authority in the UK to do this.

Our Biodiversity Duty Report is available on our Ecology pages. This document is a statutory document that we are required by government to produce.

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