Newport is becoming a cleaner, greener city, according to a new report on Newport City Council’s plans to become a carbon-neutral organisation by 2030.
The 2024-25 annual report into the council's organisational climate change plan sets out that the authority has reduced emissions by 8.95 per cent from 2023-24.
The council’s emissions are down 48.9 per cent overall from its 2019-20 baseline.
“The climate emergency is real, and we are determined to do something about it,” said Councillor Yvonne Forsey, Cabinet member for climate change, waste and recycling.
“By taking action to reduce our emissions, not only are we creating a healthier, greener Newport today, but we are also making sure we are ready to take advantage of a low-carbon future.
“Schools and community centres powered by solar energy will be cheaper to run. Electric fleet vehicles have a longer operating life and are cheaper to maintain over that period than their diesel counterparts.
“All of this means we can reinvest money into other services, delivering value for our taxpayers while improving the environment they live in.”
The annual report picks out case studies across the six themes of the council's climate change plan.
Over half of the council’s sites now have a solar PV installation on-site, generating clean energy and reducing the local authority's reliance on buying electricity through the grid.
Work to install solar panels and a battery storage system at Ringland community centre for example, has meant that the centre reduced its grid electricity consumption in May 2025 by around 90 per cent when compared to May 2024. This would equate to a monthly electricity bill of £72 as opposed to £994.
Around one in every five of council sites is also now heated by air source heat pumps rather than non-renewable sources.
Projects to reduce the council's buildings emissions, such as solar energy, heat pumps and LED lighting, have contributed to the authority spending £2.5 million less on energy per year.
They have also saved £2.3 million on capital maintenance investment over the last three years.
The council said it has the highest coverage of on-street EV charging points in Wales, with over 41 per cent of households with no access to off-street parking now within a five-minute walk of a public charger.
Work is also ongoing to install charging points onto existing streetlights.
The council planted 12,240 trees in Newport in 2024-25. Since April 2021, it has planted 68,107 trees across the city, felling 5,864 in the same period, leading to a net gain of 62,243 extra trees.
The authority's vehicle fleet emissions are also down 28.1 per cent from 2023-24. Around 55 per cent of its non-plant vehicle fleet is now electric, the most of any local authority in Wales.
Newport City Council said this was reducing emissions now as well as ensuring its fleet is ready for a future where petrol and diesel vehicles are being gradually phased out.
Procurement-related emissions are down 7.3 per cent from 2023-24.
