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Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council

Declarations & pledges

Climate emergency declaration

This council declared a climate emergency on Sept. 19, 2019.

Whole area pledge for 2040

“Doncaster, all of its public institutions, businesses and communities, should keep within its carbon budget, deliver an 85% reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2040”

Climate documents

Last update: March 16, 2022

Climate Plan Scorecard

This council’s climate plans as of 20th September 2021 were assessed and scored by trained Climate Emergency UK volunteers, as part of the Council Climate Plan Scorecards project.

Show the full Scorecard Read more about the scoring process

SectionDoncaster Metropolitan Borough CouncilAverage single tier council
Total score37%50%
Section 1 Governance, development and funding
7/21
10.3/21
Section 2 Mitigation and adaptation
7/18
9.0/18
Section 3 Commitment and integration
2/7
4.1/7
Section 4 Community, engagement and communications
5/9
5.1/9
Section 5 Measuring and setting emissions targets
1/5
2.9/5
Section 6 Co-benefits
3/4
2.2/4
Section 7 Diversity and inclusion
1/5
0.9/5
Section 8 Education, skills and training
1/5
2.3/5
Section 9 Ecological emergency
3/4
2.1/4

Emissions data

1261.3 ktCO2

Total 2020 emissions

4.0 tCO2

per person

2.2 ktCO2

per km2

33%

Transport

33%

Domestic

17%

Industry

12%

Commercial

3%

Public Sector

1%

Agriculture

Data from the Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy “subset dataset”, representing carbon dioxide emissions within the scope of influence of local authorities.

These councils are the most similar to Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council in terms of emissions profile, deprivation, rural/urban population density, and geographical nearness. Read more about how we calculate this.

Council nameSimilarityHas planCarbon Neutral byDeclared emergency
Wakefield Metropolitan District Council91%Yes2030May 23, 2019
South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority89%No2040Nov. 7, 2019
Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council86%No2030Oct. 30, 2019
Mansfield District Council85%No2040March 5, 2019
Kirklees Council84%Yes2038Jan. 16, 2019
Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council84%Yes2040Sept. 18, 2019
West Yorkshire Combined Authority83%No2038June 27, 2019
East Staffordshire Borough Council82%Yes2040Aug. 17, 2020
Chesterfield Borough Council82%Yes2030July 17, 2019
Bradford Metropolitan District Council81%Yes2030Jan. 15, 2019

These councils are the most similar to Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council in terms of their emissions profile, based on the latest data from the Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy. Read more about how we calculate this.

Council nameSimilarityHas planCarbon Neutral byDeclared emergency
Wakefield Metropolitan District Council91%Yes2030May 23, 2019
East Staffordshire Borough Council88%Yes2040Aug. 17, 2020
Torfaen County Borough Council87%YesNo targetJune 25, 2019
Broxtowe Borough Council86%Yes2027July 17, 2019
Suffolk County Council85%Yes2030March 21, 2019
South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority85%No2040Nov. 7, 2019
Nottinghamshire County Council83%No2030May 27, 2021
Rugby Borough Council83%Yes2030July 18, 2019
Halton Borough Council83%YesNo targetOct. 16, 2019
Dover District Council82%Yes2030Nov. 4, 2019
Council nameSimilarityHas planCarbon Neutral byDeclared emergency
Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council96%No2030Oct. 30, 2019
Selby District Council95%Yes2030No
Bassetlaw District Council95%NoNo targetNo
South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority95%No2040Nov. 7, 2019
Nottinghamshire County Council94%No2030May 27, 2021
Wakefield Metropolitan District Council94%Yes2030May 23, 2019
Bolsover District Council93%YesNo targetNo
Mansfield District Council93%No2040March 5, 2019
Chesterfield Borough Council92%Yes2030July 17, 2019
Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council92%Yes2040Sept. 18, 2019

These councils are the most similar to Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council in terms of the proportion of their population living in high deprivation, medium deprivation, and low deprivation neighbourhoods. Read more about how we calculate this.

Council nameSimilarityHas planCarbon Neutral byDeclared emergency
Pendle Borough Council97%Yes2030July 11, 2019
Peterborough City Council97%Yes2030July 24, 2019
Barrow-in-Furness Borough Council95%No2037July 16, 2019
West Dunbartonshire Council95%Yes2045May 29, 2019
Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council94%No2030Oct. 30, 2019
South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority94%No2040Nov. 7, 2019
Redcar and Cleveland Council94%Yes2030March 28, 2019
St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council91%Yes2040June 10, 2019
North East Combined Authority91%NoNo targetNov. 5, 2019
West Yorkshire Combined Authority91%No2038June 27, 2019

These councils are the most similar to Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council in terms of the proportion of their population living in urban, rural, and highly rural neighbourhoods. Read more about how we calculate this.

Council nameSimilarityHas planCarbon Neutral byDeclared emergency
Renfrewshire Council98%No2030June 27, 2019
Darlington Borough Council98%Yes2050July 18, 2019
Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council98%Yes2038Jan. 30, 2019
Charnwood Borough Council97%Yes2030No
Arun District Council97%No2030Jan. 15, 2020
East Dunbartonshire Council97%Yes2045No
Pendle Borough Council97%Yes2030July 11, 2019
Canterbury City Council97%Yes2030July 18, 2019
East Renfrewshire Council96%No2040Aug. 13, 2020
Wokingham Borough Council96%Yes2030July 18, 2019

Powers & Responsibilities

Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council is a Metropolitan District, with powers over:

Council buildings and staff

Climate actions might include:

  • making council offices more energy efficient
  • incentivising ‘Active Travel’ or public transport use among employees
  • providing carbon literacy training for employees
    Environmental health

    Climate actions might include:

    • reducing industrial emissions through air quality enforcement
    • bringing up insulation and energy efficiency standards through enforcement of the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) and Decent Homes Standard 2000, for cold and damp conditions in private rental and social housing

    See more in the Climate Emergency UK checklist.

    Passenger transport

    Climate actions might include:

    • encouraging bus and private hire operators to use low-emission vehicles, through licensing requirements or Clean Air Zones
    • incentivising bus use by improving routes, timetables, and ticket prices through ‘Enhanced Partnerships’ with operators
    • proposing to central government the development of light rail / tram networks that integrate, rather than compete, with other modes of transport in the area

    See more in the Climate Emergency UK checklist.

    Planning and building control

    Climate actions might include:

    • imposing reasonable requirements that new developments comply with energy efficiency standards and get a proportion of their energy from local, renewable sources (Planning and Energy Act, 2008)
    • incorporating additional energy performance standards into their Local Plan, for new works that require planning permission
    • using Area Action Plans to guide development proposals towards lower carbon emissions or more cycling and walking routes, for example
    • enforcing legislation that requires private rental properties to be of Energy Efficiency Rating E or above (Energy Efficiency Regulations, 2015)
    • funding energy efficiency improvements on existing homes, through initiatives such as Green Homes Grants

    See more in the Climate Emergency UK checklist.

    Schools and libraries

    Climate actions might include:

    • reducing the carbon footprint of civic buildings through better insulation and renewable energy use
    • incentivising ‘Active Travel’ or public transport use among employees
    • providing carbon literacy training for employees
    • encouraging eco-clubs at schools
    • using school land to plant trees and hedgerows, or to grow food

    See more in the Climate Emergency UK checklist.

    Housing

    Climate actions might include:

    • setting energy standards above building regulations (Planning and Energy Act, 2008)
    • enabling housing associations to improve the energy efficiency of their housing stock through loans
    • where councils operate their own social housing, prioritising energy efficiency – for example, by requiring Passivhaus standard for newly built schemes

    See more in the Climate Emergency UK checklist.

    Spending, procuring, and investing

    Climate actions might include:

    • embedding carbon impact assessment as part of the council’s budgeting and financial accountability process
    • utilising Public Works Loan Board loans or the Business Rates Retention Scheme to invest in emissions-reducing capital projects that otherwise wouldn’t get funded
    • specifying low carbon equipment and practices when procuring for relevant services from suppliers
    • prioritising positive environmental impacts during procurement, through the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012
    Transport planning

    Climate actions might include:

    • incentivising ‘Active Travel’ like walking and cycling by creating or widening footways and cycleways
    • incentivising Electric Vehicle use by assigning street space to EV charging
    • disincentivising the use of fossil fuel cars through congestion charging,low-traffic neighbourhoods, or the reduction of parking space

    See more in the Climate Emergency UK checklist.

    Waste collection and disposal

    Climate actions might include:

    • establishing ‘Joint Waste Solutions’ with neighbouring councils, to get more value out of waste, recycling, and street cleaning contracts
    • running marketing campaigns to encourage residential recycling, reuse, and waste minimisation

    See more in the Climate Emergency UK checklist.

    Read more about English local authority powers in the UK100 Power Shift report.

    More about this council

    doncaster.gov.uk
    Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council’s official homepage.
    Tyndall Centre Carbon Budget report
    Check Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council’s ‘carbon budget’ – their share towards meeting the UK’s Paris agreement targets.
    Friends of the Earth ‘Near You’ tool
    Discover climate groups in this area, data about Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council’s climate performance, and actions you can take.

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    Cite this page

    mySociety, Climate Emergency UK (2023). CAPE: Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council. Available at: http://cape.mysociety.org/councils/doncaster-metropolitan-borough-council/ [Accessed 22 Mar 2023].

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