Lewisham Council has outlined a £21 million climate budget for the next three years, from 2026-27 to 2028-29, as part of its ongoing commitment to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2030.
The budget, detailed in the council's third annual Climate Budget report, is appended to the council's 2026-27 budget report. The estimated cost of fully decarbonising corporate and housing assets is approximately £743 million.
The report indicates that Lewisham Council's corporate carbon emissions have reduced by just over 25% between 2018/19 and 2023/24. This reduction is attributed to factors such as the decarbonisation of the national electricity grid, local improvements to buildings, equipment, and fleet, a decrease in council staffing, rationalisation of the council's building portfolio, and changes to working patterns post-COVID.
Corporate decarbonisation projects have also contributed to this reduction. The estimated cost of decarbonising corporate buildings is £80 million, with £6 million allocated for the three-year period from 2026-27 to 2028-29. For schools, the estimated decarbonisation cost is £135 million, with £6.9 million allocated for the same three-year period. The cost of decarbonising the council's fleet is estimated at £50 million, with £5.2 million allocated for the three-year period.
Street lighting decarbonisation is estimated to cost £5 million, with £5 million allocated for the three-year period. The estimated budget for housing decarbonisation is £470 million, with £20.9 million allocated for the three-year period from 2025/26 to 2027/28, supported by £11.4 million in grant funding and £9.4 million in match funding from the Housing Revenue Account.
These figures are forecasts and individual projects will be subject to decision-making in line with the council's constitution, taking into account other pressures at that time. The report also notes that the estimated future expenditure omits a range of other activity with the potential to decrease carbon emissions, including maintenance, rationalisation of the corporate estate, and national actions such as further grid decarbonisation.
