New roadmap underpins council’s commitment to be greener faster
A new roadmap commissioned by the council provides the evidence base and ranges of measures needed for the Winchester district to be carbon neutral by 2030.
Since declaring a climate emergency in 2019, the city council has positioned the climate emergency as its overarching priority, ensuring that the climate emergency sits at the heart of its decisions and strategies.
A carbon neutral action plan was developed and many of the interventions highlighted in the Roadmap that are within the scope of the council – such as electric charging points, PV solar panels and improving energy efficiency of homes - are already underway. However, the Roadmap has highlighted the need to increase the scale and pace of the interventions with greater cross organisation working, if the district is to be carbon neutral by 2030.
The Roadmap was developed following workshops with a number of stakeholders including Winchester Action on Climate Crisis (WinACC), in-depth interviews with Hampshire County Council officers and Wessex Green Hub and a session with a wide range of stakeholders including Cycle Winchester, Friends of the Earth, Sustrans, Hampshire & IoW Wildlife Trust, Winchester BID and many more.
The Roadmap modelled 16 interventions covering: domestic, commercial, industrial, transport, land use and waste. Critical to the success of achieving carbon neutrality by 2030 will be the contributions made not only by the council, but the County Council, the district’s businesses and its residents – there is a role for everyone.
Cllr Learney, Cabinet Member for the climate emergency says:
‘We have been proactive ever since our climate emergency was announced, and have made good strides in implementing measures that will reduce the carbon footprint of the district; however, we needed further evidence to tell us if what we are doing will reach our target.
The Roadmap tells us we must act faster, not only with what we are able to do as a district council, but also working with partners – it is very clear a collaborative approach is needed to achieve a carbon neutral district, but we must strive forward and show leadership. For this reason, our new council plan will refocus our efforts to be greener faster and this will be central to what we are doing.’
Adoption of the Roadmap as its evidence base now enables the council to develop its future carbon neutrality strategies and actions. Work is also needed to identify who is best placed to lead the delivery of the interventions and the council will refocus its efforts, seeking funding for the measures which have the greatest potential to reduce emissions.
The report and roadmap can be viewed on the council’s website: Agenda for Cabinet Member for Climate Emergency Decision Day on Monday, 16th January, 2023, 9.30 am - Winchester City Council