Basingstoke MP, Maria Miller, took part in the Hampshire CoP26 Summit, which was hosted by Suella Braverman MP and featured a keynote speech from Rebecca Pow MP, Minister for Nature Recovery and the Domestic Environment.
Maria said: “I was delighted to participate in the event by Chairing a panel on the importance of Net Zero and how to achieve it, particularly in Hampshire. I am grateful to my fellow panellists for taking part: Terena Plowright founder of The Greening Campaign; Ollie Pendered, CEO of Community Energy South; and Andrew Brown of Caldera Heat Batteries Ltd., and was very much interested to hear their insights and about the innovative work they are doing in this area.
I was glad to see so many people from Basingstoke joining to watch the discussions, which I think reflects how important this issue is to my constituents. Here in Basingstoke we are leading the way on tackling climate change at a Local Authority level. The Borough Council declared a climate emergency in 2019 and has updated its Local Plan accordingly. This has been followed by the Council’s new Climate Change and Air Quality Strategy in March 2021, with the goal to become a carbon neutral borough by 2030.
Measures include, but are not limited to: installing solar panels on the roof of several of our council buildings; introducing electric vehicles into the Council fleet; adjusting bin collection routes to reduce emissions; adopting a transport strategy with a focus on encouraging more sustainable transport including cycling and walking; supporting residents to apply for government funding for energy efficient boilers; teaming up with Hampshire County Council and other local authorities in Hampshire for Solar Together – a group-buying solar scheme for residents.”