As the troubled UN climate talks in Copenhagen draw to a close today, the British government has Sisannounced it is expecting to meet its targets to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from its occupied buildings.
The announcement comes as the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) publishes key performance data on Whitehall's own sustainability targets and as the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) publishes its commentary on government performance.
Data, signed off by permanent secretaries, shows last financial year there was a 10% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from offices relative to a 1999/00 baseline (compared to 6.3% the previous year).
According to latest projections, which are built up from departmental plans, the government is in a robust position to exceed its current target of 12.5% by the end of March 2011 and can achieve a 17.8% reduction in carbon emissions against the baseline.
Ian Pearson, the economic secretary to the Treasury said: "The figures released today demonstrate the strong commitment and progress being made across Whitehall to address the crucial matter of reducing the environmental impact of government's day-to-day business operations.
"We are dedicated to encouraging more radical and innovative approaches to tackling negative impacts on the environment, and we will announce new targets for Whitehall next year, following a comprehensive review, to ensure they remain relevant, ambitious and lead best practice."
Rebecca Willis, vice chair of the SDC, said: "It's great to see the progress that has been made in the last 12 months, thanks to considerable efforts from government. We have seen improvements from road transport, water, waste and recycling targets.
"The next task for government is to get to grips with its supply chain, and to look at the performance of all government agencies, including its non-departmental public bodies.
"The world is coming to understand the urgent need to cut carbon dioxide emissions and live within environmental limits. The government now needs to make sure that its own performance matches the scale of the challenge."
• The Sustainable Development in Government 2009 data and a copy of the delivery plan update, which describes the work government will do to continue to improve performance, can be viewed here
• For Sustainable Development Commission commentary on the Sustainable Development in Government results click here
