Nottingham City Council’s leader says he fears the goal of reaching carbon neutral status by 2028 will be “squeezed out” by drastic cuts.
The authority aims to become the first carbon-neutral city in the country within four years.
However, it is trying to find millions of pounds in savings after effectively declaring bankruptcy two months ago.
It is proposed that £50,000 will be saved by eliminating one of the vacant council positions responsible for the project.
Leader Councillor David Mellen (Lab) told the Communities and Environment Scrutiny Committee that he hoped the city would stay on track despite financial challenges.
“One of my fears is that Carbon Neutral 2028 gets squeezed out,” he said.
“This budget shouldn’t affect the long-term ambition. The post that is being eliminated won’t have a significant impact, but [Carbon Neutral 2028] will still be affected by inflation.
“There’s quite a lot of work to do, and people are asking ‘Can we really do this?’
“The latest review showed that the council’s emissions have gone down, but our partners’ have gone up.
“There are many factors out of our control. We have still got diesel trains in the station, despite the government repeatedly promising they would electrify the line.
“Fortunately, the green partnership in Nottingham is healthy and strong.”
Colin Parr (Corporate Director for community, environment and residents’ services) said: “The authority has led the way in this area, however there has been a change in the political landscape.
“The government’s ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars has been pushed back from 2030 to 2035.
“Our fleet of refuse vehicles is one of the cleanest in Europe, but they are incredibly expensive to run until electric vehicles become more widespread.
“We had expected the market to rebalance after 2030 – unfortunately, it will be longer before we see that benefit.
“We are still ready for the future, but that future’s become further away.”
The council has a £23m budget shortfall for the current financial year, and a separate £53m gap for 2024/25, which the council is legally required to close.
The Executive will meet to set a budget for the next financial year on February 13.
