Source: City of Portsmouth
Ambitious next steps towards a carbon neutral Portsmouth have been agreed by the city council.
A programme of work to tackle climate change will build on achievements over the last 12 months, which include:
- Delivering Warm Homes funding to help make Portsmouth homes more energy efficient, reducing fossil fuel usage
- Launching a landmark solar power project at Lakeside North Harbour, one of the UK’s biggest solar car park and battery storage installations
- Starting work on ‘Seachange’, the biggest project in Portsmouth International Port’s history to provide green electricity to power ships while at berth
- Securing funding to plant 2,500 new trees as part of a wider Greening Strategy to double the city’s tree canopy coverage over 25 years, and developing an Urban Forest Masterplan
- Partnering with Southern Water to invest in reducing surface water runoff which contributes to outfall releases, including a £220,000 grant for sustainable drainage at New Horizon’s School
- Working in partnership with Hampshire County Council and First Bus to launch a fleet of 62 brand new, zero emission buses, replacing a diesel fleet as part of the strategy for greener travel and improved air quality
A report for the Climate Change and Greening the City meeting outlined the council’s focus on continuing to reduce carbon usage across all departments. The council will work with partners to protect and enhance Portsmouth’s natural environment, while building resilience to the impacts of climate change – such as heatwaves and rainfall – with a focus on supporting the most vulnerable.
A programme of climate and natural environment actions was presented and agreed. It includes:
- Improving how the council monitors carbon emissions, including emissions from its suppliers.
- Developing Local Area Energy Plans
- Continuing to work with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on funded schemes to upgrade domestic properties across all tenures to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions.
- Developing a resilient treescape by working with stakeholders and communities so old and new trees are resilient to climate change impacts and provide cooling across the city
- Continued working to reduce surface water flooding
- Exploring how we deliver a green and healthy streets programme
- Developing a biodiversity strategy and action plan as part of the council’s Strengthened Biodiversity Duty
- Development of an air quality strategy
Cllr Kimberley Barrett, Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Greening the City, said:
“Climate change is here and its impact is affecting us all. That’s why we declared a climate emergency in 2019, and made a pledge for the city and the council to become carbon neutral.
“We all want Portsmouth to be a green and healthy city, where people and businesses thrive alongside nature. But we can only achieve this if businesses and our communities work together.
“The good news is that so much has been achieved already, but we need to keep being ambitious as this programme of work is, to protect and enhance our special city.”
Cllr Barrett approved the transformation programme, which will form the basis of the council’s activity to tackle climate change and improve the natural environment for 2025/26.