University of Portsmouth Alumni Magazine 1 1 | Page 2

HELPING
PORTSMOUTH
BECOME A
SHOWCASE FOR
SUSTAINABLE
LIVING
CAN CHANGES IN ONE CITY REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN
THE GLOBAL EFFORT TO MINIMISE CLIMATE CHANGE?
Portsmouth alum Tristan
Thorn BA (Hons) ’12 MA
’17 says yes. And he should
know. As Strategy Advisor
– Climate Change for Portsmouth
City Council, he plays a key part in
shaping what Portsmouth does next.
Tristan is coordinating departments
across Portsmouth City Council to
achieve an ambitious target – net zero
carbon emissions from Portsmouth
by 2030. He has just finished
drafting the strategy for how the
city will achieve that ambitious goal.
‘It’s a living document,’ Tristan explains.
‘I’ve talked to other councils and
some universities. It was reassuring
that people from other councils
agree that to become net zero by
2030 was well above and beyond
targets for the national Government.
So the main change was to focus on
what we as a council could target;
what was in our sphere of influence.’
That means everything from transport
to waste management – and where
there’s an area, such as decarbonising
the National Grid, that is outside the
Council’s control, they’ll work to
lobby and influence change. Tristan is
already seeing exciting changes at the
local level, including a successful food
waste collection trial, which opens the
door for a new anaerobic digester. The
digester will convert food waste into
biogas, which can be used for heat,
fuel and electricity instead of energy
generated from fossil fuels. What’s
more, diverting food waste to the
digester will reduce the amount of
greenhouse gases emitted from landfill.
Overall, Tristan says this can save ‘a
phenomenal amount of emissions.’
He’s keen to see less traffic on the
roads, not just because this would
reduce air pollution but also because
of co-benefits to health, such as an
increase in cycling and walking. And
he’s keen for the city to develop
greener public spaces because studies
show this will improve wellbeing.
Tristan studied at the University of
Portsmouth twice, graduating with a
BA (Hons) in International Relations
in 2012, and an MA in International
Relations and European Studies in
2016. He feels these experiences
prepared him well for his current role: