ITS a city with enviable
green credentials
which have
placed it 5th in the UKs
eco-charts.
But now Southampton is poised
to go on a major green push that
could secure for the city the
nations environmentally friendly
crown.
Over the next few years a raft of
ambitious schemes are set to dramatically
reduce Southamptons
carbon footprint C and change the
way all of us live forever.
From how we heat our homes to
how we dispose of our waste, no
area of life will escape the ecocrusade.
Planned measures include:
ö reducing the citys carbon footprint
by 20 per cent from 1996
levels
ö reducing the amount of waste
sent to landfill sites by 2-3,000
tonnes per year
ö introducing recycling facilities
for more items
ö expanding the low emission
combined heating and power
system across the city
ö using wind power, wave power
and other sustainable energy
sources to power the city
Southampton has gained its status
as one of the greenest cities in
Britain through a variety of measures.
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These include impressive results
on producing more environmentally
friendly fuel, reducing energy
waste, recycling and reducing
materials sent to landfill sites as
well as more visible factors
such as the parks, common and
greenways which run throughout
the city.
It is in the area of green energy
that the city is particularly
outstanding.
Southampton is renowned for
its combined heat and energy
(CHP) scheme. This system is
making a real contribution to
reducing the citys carbon footprint
C and therefore its contribution
to climate change.
The system heats hot water
which is sent to some 40 major
users, including WestQuay shopping
centre and a number of
blocks of flats, and at the same
time produces energy which is
sold to the national grid.
Bill Clark, sustainability policy
manager at the council, explained
that there are three ways the
council intends to make the CHP
system even more environmentally
friendly.
These are expanding the system
so that more people can make use
of it, switching from fossil fuels to
more sustainable energy sources
with lower CO2 emissions and
reducing the amount of energy
people consume.
They are currently working on
replacing some of the natural gas
used by the system with forestry off-cuts and by-products from the
area. This is a renewable energy
source which also produces lower CO2
emissions than gas.
In the coming year small wind turbines
are also set to be introduced
which will supply power to small
groups of homes.
They are also investigating the possibility
of harnessing wave or tide
power, although the Solents status as
a major shipping lane may make this
difficult, and are working with the
University of Southampton on photovoltaic
cells which convert solar energy
into electricity.
Work is also going into encouraging
people to reduce the amount of energy
they consume.
Mr Clarke said: Reducing the need
for energy has got to be seen in the
same context as expanding sustainable
energy. Thats something were
working on with new developments
and also by giving advice C helping
with the environment centre, giving
advice to businesses and householders
on how to reduce energy demands.
People are taking the need to
reduce their energy use more seriously
than they were a few years ago. The
way that helps combat climate change
is much more appreciated now
although people are reluctant to make
personal sacrifices as we know from
trying to reduce car mileage.
The aim is to reduce Southamp-tons
CO2 emissions by 20 per cent of their
1996 level by 2010. This is an extremely
tall order. In 1996, when the citys CO2
emission levels stood at 1,118 kilotonnes,
the statistics did not include
emissions through air travel. Whats
more, the amount of information technology,
in the city has increased,
which also produces a significant
increase in CO2 emissions.
Mr Clark continued: Were slowing
down the growth of CO2 emissions at
the moment rather than reducing
them C we have to do some pretty serious
things to reduce the growth.
The 2005 figure, the latest available,
shows emissions are 1,305 kilotonnes.
The aim of reducing them by 20 per
cent by 2010 is a very challenging target
and we wont achieve it. There are
some fairly significant local energy
schemes and they wont be completed
by 2010 but you need a really tough
target to make it seem real. Well
achieve an over ten per cent reduction
on 1996 levels but not 20 per cent.
Southampton was ranked fifth of all
councils in the country in a survey
carried out last year by the Guardian
newspaper.
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