Climate Change and Air Quality Strategy

Please check out our ‘Climate Emergency Action Plan 2021-22’ (updated in October 2021) to see latest progress since adopting the strategy and what else we’re currently working on.

Climate change remains arguably the greatest threat to the world and air quality issues threaten damage to our health. The impacts of these issues are not just confined to the other side of the world but are expected to have significant impacts locally and for our residents, particularly the most vulnerable members of our community. That is why we must all step up and take action.

And tackling these issues will bring a whole host of benefits to our borough, creating a healthier place to live and work, providing new jobs and helping tackle social issues such as fuel poverty.

In summary, this strategy sets out a framework for us to take action to tackle these issues and meet the ambitious targets set out in our Climate Emergency declaration, in particular:

• Becoming carbon neutral in council operations by 2025
  
• Working towards Basingstoke and Deane borough being carbon neutral by 2030.
  

The proposed strategy categorises actions into 6 main categories:

• Action by all – the need for everyone in the borough to contribute
  
• Buildings – tackling emissions from heating and powering our buildings
  
• Transport – tackling emissions from vehicles
  
• Zero carbon electricity – supporting the transition to a decarbonised electricity system
  
• Waste and consumption – reducing waste and consumption
  
• Natural environment – maximising the climate mitigation and adaptation qualities of the natural environment
  

As a council, we think we need to Lead, Enable and Inspire:

• Lead - by example as a community leader, especially in tackling our own emissions
  
• Enable – facilitating change through policies and strategies, detail of which may be developed elsewhere, but with tackling climate change and air quality at their core.
  
• Inspire - educating, encouraging and empowering our residents, businesses and communities to take action
  

Further details are set out in the full strategy below.

Supporting documents

Alongside the strategy, below is also an Action Plan that accompanies this strategy. This includes further detail of the actions we intend to implement in each area. This document will be updated at least annually, to account for new actions and progress made to date.

Climate Change and Air Quality Strategy(PDF) [2 Mb]

Climate Change and Air Quality Strategy - Equality Impact Assessment(PDF) [185 kb]

Climate Emergency Action Plan 2021-22(PDF) [404 kb]

Action Plan 2020/21(PDF) [349 kb]

Further enquiries