REDUCTIONS in carbon emissions that can be used to compensate for emissions elsewhere in the Basingstoke borough will need to be implemented for the climate target to be reached, it has been revealed.

During a Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council (BDBC) cabinet meeting held on October 11, the council suggested that in order to meet its climate emergency target offsetting will need to be used to reach carbon neutrality.

Offsetting is defined as reductions in emissions in one place that can be used to compensate for emissions elsewhere. 

As previously reported the cabinet declared a climate emergency in 2019 which included a target to be carbon neutral as an organisation by December 2025. 

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Cllr Hayley Eachus said: “As a cabinet, we absolutely recognise the consequences of climate change locally but also globally and we continue to drive hard to make changes to reduce our admissions and achieve the climate goals we have set in our climate emergency, but we should also explore all opportunities.

“Since we declared that climate emergency, we haven’t stood still the council has managed to reduce our emissions by 66 per cent and we continue to do lots to achieve our target of 2025."

She gave the cabinet a few examples including buying renewable energy to supply properties and parking and community safety patrol officers using electric vehicles.

In the report, she continued: “I feel we need to acknowledge the place for mitigating the carbon emissions we have and will emit before reaching our 2025 council operational emissions target. I feel very strongly that we should always be working to minimise our impact on the environment and where we can take steps to balance our current emissions and mitigate those carbon emissions we have now and all of our known carbon emissions since the emergency was declared by offsetting these emissions, it is only right we should."

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The leader of the Labour group Cllr Andy McCormick was not convinced.

He added: “I am concerned about spending an extra £193K on offsets. This is greenwashing we need real reductions in emissions.

“The paper lakes substances and details. The truth is we’re on track to miss our 2030 target for the borough."

Meanwhile the leader of the council Cllr Simon Bound supported the idea of offsetting.

He added: “I absolutely agree with the words of Jane Austen, It is not what we say or think that defines us it is what we do. This is about what we have emitted since our climate declaration which is three years ago. It is my strongly held belief that to do nothing for the carbon that has been admitted would be negligence and I am not about to sit here and do that."