Climate Emergency Action Plan

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges we face, locally, nationally and globally. It is a challenge that will continue to grow over the coming years, becoming ever more critical for future generations. 

The Council declared a climate emergency in September 2019 and committed to identify steps we can take to achieve carbon-neutrality as soon as possible.  

In June 2020 the Council approved its climate emergency action plan. It concentrates on what the Council can do to make a difference. However, we cannot face the challenge alone and we will all need to work together to help sustain and improve the quality of life of those in the Borough both now and into the future. 

The action plan is a living document. It will need to be reviewed to take account of our progress as well as changes in technology, government policy and available opportunities. The Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee is updated about the Climate Emergency Action Plan twice a year, with the papers available on the Council’s website. The most recent reports were in October 2021, April 2022, November 2022 and April 2023.The updated documents summarise what has happened since the Action Plan was approved, based on the information reported to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee. 

 

Since our climate emergency declaration, some of the things we have done include: 

  • Moved to a greener electricity tariff, where our electricity usage is matched by renewable energy generation 

  • Replaced a number of vehicles and sweepers in our fleet to electric equivalents and moved a number of our petrol driven hand tools over to battery powered versions 

  • Switched fuels for our fleet away from diesel to hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), which should reduce the associated direct emissions by up to 95% 

  • Secured funding to help implement a range of decarbonisation measures at our Romsey depot 

  • Planted over 22,800 trees over the last two planting seasons with support from volunteers 

  • Implemented three years of our urban meadow initiative, with the area managed this way increasing each year 

  • Worked with partners to enable fuel poor households living in energy inefficient homes to access to grants to improve the energy performance of their homes and promoted the availability of other initiatives such as Solar Together Hampshire 

  • Launched a two-year community energy programme being led by Community Energy South on behalf of the Council and working with Dragonfly Power 

  • Secured funding to help local rural land-based businesses reduce their carbon footprint 

  • Clarified that our community grants can be used for climate change and environmental projects and awarded funding to support the energy performance of community buildings