COUNTY bosses have unveiled their strategy to tackle climate change.

Civic chiefs at Hampshire County Council have published a Climate Change Strategy for the next five years.

This will now be followed by the development of an action plan which will set out the actions that the council will take to meet its targets.

The news comes as county councillors have pledged to become carbon neutral by 2050 and set a target to build resilience to the impacts of a two-degree Celsius rise in temperature.

The strategy, which is set to be discussed by cabinet members on July 14, outlines key areas on intervention.

The news comes as data showed that the top three sources of emissions in Hampshire are industry and commercial (38.89%); transport (36.98%); domestic (23.66%).

According to the startegy published by the county council, civic chiefs intend to reduce waste and increase recycling rates while developing and implementing low carbon solutions to waste collection and disposal.

They also aim to avoid carbon-intensive activities, replace high-carbon energy sources with low-carbon energy ones and use technology to support and deliver the climate change agenda.

The plan also sets out intentions to reduce carbon emissions associated with the construction sectors.

Civic chiefs are also planning to engage with local communities and organisations to  promote and enable the generation of “local, renewable, resilient energy which would stimulate and support green growth in Hampshire”.

In an official document county bosses said: “The county council recognises that significant changes in lifestyle and behaviours of residents alongside the policy and intervention work will be necessary to deliver the scale of change needed to deliver against the targets set. 

"A key strand of the climate change work programme will therefore focus on how the Council engages, educates, and communicates with residents to encourage and enable changes in behaviour across the community on both emissions reductions and resilience.”

The authority said there are “significant challenges” to Hampshire achieving its targets and  action from central government and changes in national policy will therefore be required.

Cabinet members at the county council will now discuss the strategy at a meeting set to start at 10.30am.

Cllr Rob Humby, deputy leader and executive member for economy, transport and environment, said: “As a local authority, the biggest influence we can have on emissions is in the transport and residential sectors, and this is where we will seek to focus our efforts while continuing to use our influence by working in partnership with the business community.”