Derbyshire County Council drops core net zero commitment, shifting towards economic benefits and production

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By Eddie Bisknell – Local Democracy Reporting Service

A Reform-run Derbyshire council is dropping a core net zero commitment, opting to shift towards economic benefits and production.

The ‘memorandum of understanding’ signed between Derbyshire County Council and 18 members of the mineral product industry in 2022 – most of which are national leaders – has been redrafted to match the Reform administration’s political aims.

A new council document on the move details that the joint position – aimed at securing closer working relationships and cutting carbon emissions – has been changed to “better reflect the evolving relationship including the shared aims and outcomes of the council and the mineral products industry”.

Signed in 2022, the previous agreement between the industry and the council was to help reach net zero by 2050.

The report on the minerals industry agreement says: “Retaining the existing MoU is not considered an appropriate option as its aims and purpose no longer reflect the council’s council plan or the administration’s ambition for Derbyshire.

“Since the signing of the current MoU, local elections have been held and there have been several changes of personnel within the industry.

“This has resulted in many of the signatories of the original MoU no longer being in post, and those who have replaced them may be relatively unaware of the document, its aims and the actions set out within it.

“Furthermore, the emphasis within the current MoU has changed from one focused on ‘Net Zero’, to being more focused on improving efficiency and productivity within the sector.

“Similarly, whilst the original MoU had a stated purpose of increasing the economic benefit of activity, it is felt this was not sufficiently reflected in the agreed actions for both parties and should be more strongly reflected throughout the document. This is also true for the elements relating to transport and infrastructure (supporting freight development).

“This refreshed version changes the emphasis from net zero to clean energy and places greater emphasis on the National Stone Centre project (near Wirksworth), with the aim of turning the centre into a world class visitor centre. There is also an ambition to make the centre a catapult hub for skills within the mineral products industry, that will become a global leader in the field. “

The new agreement does still include a net zero reference, saying: “The minerals industry is committed to a sustainable future with many producers aligning to zero carbon at or ahead of the UK Government target.”

It does not feature in any of the joint aims for 2026-2027, the benefits to be realised from joint working or the commitments from signatories.

A council report says Derbyshire is one of the UK’s largest producers of minerals, providing 85 percent of Englant’s limestone, along with 10 million tonnes of aggregates and other mineral products for the construction industry.

This includes the Derbyshire-based companies employing 2,000 people and contributing £140 million a year to the economy – combining to represent £2.5 billion by 2040.

Annual turnover from these firms is the same as that brought in by three quarters of the visitor economy, the new agreement details.

The authority has had two key ongoing aims regarding net zero, one to cut its own carbon to net zero by 2032 and the other to reduce its geographic patch’s carbon footprint – that of Derbyshire itself – to net zero by 2050.

Officials have long-detailed that reducing Derbyshire’s carbon footprint is not something that can rest with the council itself and relies heavily on the minerals/quarrying industry, which is host to much of the county’s carbon footprint – but is one of economic necessity to the UK.

The council previously detailed that the mineral products industry accounts for nearly 70 percent of the county’s industrial emissions – with industrial emissions totalling 48 per cent of Derbyshire’s carbon emission output.

However, since coming into office last May, Reform UK have sought to tone down council references to net zero, though they have retained a cabinet member with the priority, Cllr Carol Wood.

One of the Reform administration’s first decisions last May was to scrap the committee on climate change, biodiversity and carbon reduction

The council’s main Council Plan document, to be agreed this week, does not contain any reference to “net zero”, but does make reference to “clean energy”.

However, a supporting appendix does say “ensured the council’s effective contribution to the net zero, nature recovery and heritage priorities of the East Midlands Combined County Authority”.

It details: “Support energy security and efficiency, including clean energy where it is reliable, affordable, and delivers clear benefits to residents without increasing costs or reducing local choice.”

Last May, Cllr Alan Graves, council leader, had said: “Net zero is not a priority for us, in fact it is the opposite of a priority for us.

“The whole net zero agenda is in fact costing every single person in our country a lot of money to heat their houses to use their gas, use their electricity and what we want to do is find ways where that cost isn’t handed over to everybody.

“As a country we are very efficient at cutting carbon, why do we need to burden the people out there with more?

“We have a different view and you will just have to get used to that.”