New data shows Glasgow City Council is scoring highly on climate action, but community leader is ‘flabbergasted’
Glasgow is among the UK’s top performing councils for climate action, according to new national data but local leaders in Govanhill question whether the benefits are actually reaching the city’s most deprived communities and are calling for more to be done.
Climate Action mural near Govanhill Baths
By Clare Harris
Glasgow City Council is one of the UK’s leading authorities for action on climate, new data has found.
A set of ‘climate action scorecards’ was released yesterday (17 June) by the campaigning body Climate Emergency UK. The scorecards assess how much action local authorities across the UK have taken to tackle issues such as energy bills, carbon emissions, nature and public transport.
The first scorecards were released in 2023, so today’s results show whether councils have improved. Glasgow’s overall score is up by 9 points on 2023; but Climate Emergency UK believes improvement must be faster to keep up with threats posed by the climate crisis.
The scores are worked out with ratings given under the following headings: buildings & heating, transport, planning & land use, government & finance, biodiversity, collaboration and engagement, waste reduction & food. Glasgow’s scores were up on all points apart from: buildings & heating and waste reduction & food.
Don von Rohland, Outreach Director at Climate Emergency UK and resident of Glasgow, said: ‘The vast majority of councils in Scotland have improved their Scorecard results since 2023, showing that councils, along with residents, want to prioritise climate action to improve their lives and communities.
‘Yet the average overall score increase in Scotland since 2023 was just 6 percentage points. These Scorecards provide proof of where councils need real investment from the Scottish Government so that every council can make real progress towards cleaner, safer and more prosperous zero emission communities we need to thrive.’
Fatima Uygun, CEO of Govanhill Baths Community Trust, said she was ‘flabbergasted’ by the findings.
“We have yet to see what the council’s actions on climate have done for poorer and more deprived areas like Govanhill,” she said.
“We work on several projects that are to do with both poverty and climate change, such as work on heating bills and food. A lot of the measures you hear about, like car charging, solar panels and heat pumps are completely out of the reach of poor people.”
The Trust has recently begun work on a project to improve tree cover in Govanhill, areas of which have some of the least amount of tree coverage in the country. The Creative Canopy Project, awarded £90,000 over three years, plans to plant 780 fruit and nut trees as a dispersed orchard across Govanhill. “We’re very proud to be working on this project”, added Uygun.
Councillor for the Southside Central Ward, Soryia Siddique, said she welcomes the recognition that Glasgow has increased its score in the latest Climate Action Scorecards: “The city achieving a 64% score – up 9 percentage points since 2023 – shows that some steps forward have been made, particularly in public engagement, where Glasgow scored well for consultation and collaboration.
But the local councillor believes there is “scope for improvement” where public transport, building retrofit and emissions reduction is concerned: “Glasgow requires a funded citywide retrofit delivery programme to tackle the thousands of cold, damp homes across the city, particularly in areas like Govanhill. The absence of a large-scale plan to improve energy efficiency is unacceptable.
“Buses are not under public control. There is need for an affordable, and integrated transport network, but Glasgow’s system can be fragmented and unreliable."
Meanwhile, Von Rohland’s comments were echoed by Glasgow City Council, who said that private and national government investment was needed to get further towards their net zero goals and help drive initiatives such as a district heat network powered by the River Clyde.
A spokesperson said: “Since the 2019 climate emergency declaration, Glasgow has made significant progress in our journey towards net zero. We now have increasingly detailed plans to reduce carbon emissions, mitigate against the effects of climate change and better understand how we secure the funding the city needs to achieve its goals.
“Our Net Zero Route Map provides robust evidence for the impact of our actions, and shows us what more needs to be done to make Glasgow a net zero city.
“It confirms very clearly that private sector investment is needed and demonstrates the wide scope for green investment that exists in Glasgow. Further funding from national government to spur the transition on would clearly help Glasgow reach net zero faster.”