Portsmouth residents are being told their choices can play a big part in fighting climate change and help the city become carbon neutral.
The rallying cry comes as Portsmouth City Council announces it has managed to halve the carbon emitted through energy use in its operational buildings over the last 10 years.
The impressive achievement comes through a combination of energy-saving measures taken across the council’s properties and the electricity grid switching to increasingly green energy sources, which all together meant the amount of carbon emitted was reduced from 24,826 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2010/11 to 12,474 tonnes in 2020/21.
Ongoing and future projects, such as the large-scale solar installations at Portsmouth International Port and Lakeside, will act to bring these emissions down even further in the coming years.
Cllr Kimberley said: “We are aiming for the entire city to be carbon neutral by 2030, we can only do that if everyone plays their part. People don’t realise everyday choices they make can actually make a difference to the environment and climate change. Everything any of us does helps make a difference so it’s really important that everyone does what they can.
“The council has halved the amount of carbon its buildings emit through energy use over the last 10 years and the choices made to have things like solar panels and LED lighting have played an important part in that. People can make similar differences in their own homes, many residents don’t realise solar panels are an option for them or the amount of energy they can save with some fairly simple steps. Switched On Portsmouth can help people learn about what they can do and save them money free of charge.”
Switched On Portsmouth, the council’s in-house domestic energy team has recently opened an offer of free solar panels for qualifying households in the city, after winning further money from the government.
To find out more about Switched On Portsmouth and the services offered call 0800 260 5907 or visit www.switchedonportsmouth.co.uk
