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What's new in the South West?Please help us re-design our new websiteWe are redesigning our website; the aim of which is to update its content and ensure that the information is easily accessible to all users. We are inviting you to answer a few questions to help us understand user needs as we improve our site. Your comments and suggestions will be valuable. Please spare a few minutes to fill out our questionnaire. All information collected will be kept in confidence and will only be used in an aggregated form for statistical purposes. Please complete this survey by Friday 20th January. Any forms delivered after this date will be used as future user information. Click here to access the survey questionnaire (external site). January 2012 7th February 2012, Business Resilience and Climate Change WorkshopThis workshop is being organised by Climate SouthWest in conjunction with Business and the Community. The workshop will look at how you can make your business more resilient to extreme weather and our changing climate. For details see our events page. January 2012 'Water, water everywhere..?' Photo competition open for entries DEADLINE EXTENDEDClimate SouthWest have launched a competition inviting your photos that demonstrate positive actions to manage and celebrate water. The South West is certainly no stranger to rain! Yet Spring 2011 was the driest for more than 20 years, and the second driest since 1929. Whether too much or too little, the amount of water we receive has a big effect on our lives and our environment. Climate change is likely to bring more extremes in rainfall, finding ways of reducing and coping with flooding, using water wisely and making the most of opportunities from both wet and dry weather, will become ever more important. The competition is a great opportunity to demonstrate photographic skills and win one of four prizes on offer. Photos could include examples of how we are affected by either affected by either extreme wet or dry weather in our day-to-day lives. Entries are invited under four categories: Home & Garden; Travel & Technology; Countryside & Wildlife; and People & Buildings. The top prize is 5 Family Day Out Passes with the National Trust, the main sponsor of the competition, plus a water butt kindly provided by Bristol Water. As well as a prize for the overall winner, there will be 4 prizes of a £25 voucher for the best photo in each category (sponsored by Bristol Water), and a £50 voucher for the best photo taken by an Under-16. For more information and to enter your photo in the competition, download the brief and entry form here: competition brief and entry form (doc). November 2011 Now Booking: 7th December 2011,'Preparing to Prosper: Building resilience to change' conferenceThis conference is being organised by Climate SouthWest's Tourism Sector Group and is aimed at those who work with tourism businesses. For details see our events page. November 2011 Climate SouthWest presentation material updated (July 2011)Climate SouthWest has 3 sets of presentation slides available for anyone to use (and adapt for their own audiences), which have now been updated with the most relevant information and links. The presentations, which are all available on this website's Tools page, are:
July 2011 Launch of Devon Environmental Business Initiative (DEBI) 2011 AwardsDEBI have launched their annual environmental awards. Categories this year are: Environmental Goods and Services; Low Carbon Business; Food Farming and Leisure; and Environmental Champion. Entry is free and you do not need to be a member of DEBI. Give it a go, forward the information on to your suppliers and customers too and celebrate what you and the businesses you work with have achieved. More information about the Awards, including an Awards brochure and entry form, can be found at: http://www.debi-online.org.uk/awards. The closing date for entries is 26th September. June 2011 Has your business been affected by extreme weather?Snow, floods, prolonged dry spells, heatwaves - the South West has seen them all over the last 18 months! How has your business been affected? Climate SouthWest are running an online survey to find out how extreme weather has impacted upon business across the region, and how resilient they are to future events. The results will help inform future programmes of advice and support on the theme of business resilience, so please tell us your views to help us identify what is needed. The aggregated results will also be shared with our partners (which include business support organisations, the Environment Agency, Water companies and local authorities) and may help influence wider preparations and responses to extreme weather across the South West. Please complete the quick, 10-question survey at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/6MLVKMM by Friday 22nd July. For help in preparing your business for extreme weather, visit: http://www.climateprepared.com. Thank you for taking part! June 2011 Climate SouthWest NI188 Coordinator Final Project Report and Case Studies - now available!Following the successful delivery of the SW Improvement and Efficiency Programme (SWIEP) funded National Indicator 188 (NI188) Coordinator project, the final project report and 5 local authority good practice case studies are now available. The project provided dedicated support to the 16 South West upper tier local authorities on the delivery of climate change adaptation, specifically under National Performance Indicator 188 (NI188): Planning to Adapt to Climate Change. The final report gives an overview of the project outputs which included 8 events; evaluates the success of the project in terms of the progress made by the participating local authorities; and makes some recommendations on how to keep adaptation high on the local authority agenda following the abolition of NI188. The case studies cover how climate change adaptation has been integrated into local strategic partnership, local authority impacts assessment, corporate risk management and scenario planning. The report can be accessed via our local gov page, and the case studies can be accessed via our case studies page. June 2011 'Whatever the Weather' photo competition winners announced!
First prize (a National Trust annual family pass) was awarded to Derek Carter for his stunning photo of ice crystals framing a wire fence near Lambert's Castle in Dorset (see right). There were also prizes of £20 photography vouchers for the best photo in each of the 4 categories (Hot; Cold; Wet; and Dry) and a £50 photography voucher for Matthew von Lany (aged just 13), winner of the best photo taken by an Under-16. The judges also decided to award 2 additional photos a 'Highly Commended' certificate. All the winners and their families were treated to a prize-giving ceremony and tour at the National Trust's Castle Drogo on 26th March, including a trip onto the castle's roof. Their photos were also enlarged and displayed in the visitor centre at Castle Drogo the following week for all to enjoy. You can view the winning photos online at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/climatesw/sets/72157626482398796/detail/. April 2011 'Climate Week: building resilience in the South West'Climate SouthWest are running and supporting a number of events and activities as part of Climate Week (21st - 28th March 2011). Details and the full Climate SouthWest programme of events are available on our events page up until the week has been held. February 2011 Climate SouthWest Local Climate Impacts Profile Final Project Report - now available!Following the successful delivery of the SW Improvement and Efficiency Programme (SWIEP) funded Local Climate Impacts Profile Project in 2010, the Climate SouthWest final project report is now available. The project helped the 9 local authorities to build an understanding of the impacts and consequences of current extreme weather events on their service delivery. The final report provides a useful summary of the project outcomes, the benefits of the collaborative approach used, as well as providing a suggested methodology for monitoring and recording future impacts, and recommendations for both Climate SW and the local authorities. The report can be accessed via our local government page. February 2011 'Planting Places' award winners announced!The winners of charity Sustainability South West's fourth annual Planting Places Awards were announced on 18th February 2011. The awards celebrate top examples of greenspace from across the South West of England. They recognise the huge array of benefits that these spaces - and the hard-working people who look after them - have in supporting healthy, sustainable communities. Among the 10 winners is a project at South Milton Sands (South Hams, Devon), which, as a result of climate change, was identified as a high risk site to changes in sea levels and erosion within the next 20 years. The National Trust project has been helping the local community to understand coastal change at a local level and how it could directly impact on them. The aim was to find and implement a shared solution for the long term future of the area, and a number of activities have taken place as part of this. For instance, the planting of marram grasses has helped to connect people to the landscape and was an opportunity for them to give something back to a beach from which they have taken so much satisfaction from. More information about the Planting Places award winners can be found at http://www.sustainabilitysouthwest.org.uk/projects/planting_places/planting_places_awards/ February 2011 'Whatever the Weather' - win a National Trust annual family pass in Climate SouthWest's photo competition!Climate SouthWest are running a photo competition on the theme of 'extreme weather', with a fantastic first prize of an annual family pass for one year's free admission to National Trust places! We are looking for your photos that illustrate the effect that extreme weather has on the South West, under 4 categories: 'Hot'; 'Cold'; 'Wet'; and 'Dry'. As well as the prize for the overall winner, there will be also be prizes for the best photo in each category, and for the best photo taken by an Under-16. The deadline for entries is Sunday 13th March and the winners will be announced during Climate Week 2011 (21st - 27th March). February 2011 What's new - National/International?UK Climate Change Risk Assessment and South West Summary Report PublishedThe UK Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA) 2012 has now been published. It is the first assessment of its kind for the UK and the first in a 5 year cycle. It provides underpinning evidence that can be used by Government to help inform priorities for action and appropriate adaptation measures. It also highlights where more work is needed to understand the scale and nature of the risks, and to help us consider what action we need to take and as such will inform the development of the National Adaptation Programme (NAP) which UK Government will publish in 2013. To coincide with the publication of the UK CCRA 2012 and given the importance of local adaptation action, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) commissioned the Climate Change Partnerships across England to produce an information pack to highlight key risks and opportunities from climate change within each area. The report 'A Summary of Climate Change Risks for South West England', along with 2 accompanying impact examples Wiltshire Council and Peatland Restoration, can be accessed here:
Drawing on information within the CCRA and other local evidence, the analysis illustrates what climate change may mean for people, businesses, community and charitable groups, local authorities, and other organisations across key sectors, at the local level. It also highlights where there is a strong case for greater local action. Your views on this assessment will be critical for us to contribute to the next step in the process, which is the development of the National Adaptation Programme (NAP), led by Defra and also the development of the Environment Agency's new role as the adaptation delivery body in England. The NAP will set out what policies and actions are needed to take action on the risks (and opportunities) from climate change. Defra aim to co-create this with involvement from all relevant stakeholders, and to ensure a strong local component. A key part of this will be informed by the 'Call for Views' which means individuals, businesses, local authorities, community, charitable or voluntary organisations can tell Defra:
This will be a key opportunity for us to feed in our own unique perspectives as the NAP is being developed. To take part in the Call for Views follow http://engage.defra.gov.uk/nap. This exercise will last until April 2012. January 2012 Survey of UK Urban Energy Initiatives - Your Opportunity to InputAs part of CLUES project (Challenging Lock in through Urban Energy Systems) researchers are carrying out a survey of urban energy initiatives. An aim of the research is to aid decision-making to facilitate the roll out of forward-looking energy initiatives in UK towns and cities. The survey will be carried out in two stages on a website between January and April 2012, with the second stage being based on the results of the first (referred to as Delphi technique). Each stage requires a maximum of 30 minutes and can be completed at a convenient time. Who should take part? Planners, policy makers, and urban designers as well as individuals working in the third sector who have been involved with projects or policy to develop energy generation (electricity and renewable heat) and/or increase energy efficiency in UK towns and cities. How can you take part? At the moment, the organisers are simply asking you to express an interest in participating. Simply enter your name and email address into the internet form (at http://www.tinyurl.com/urbanenergyclues), by 27th January. Please contact Graeme Sherriff (graemesherriff@manchester.ac.uk) at the University of Manchester for more information. January 2012 Register for Climate Week Awards12th to 18th March 2012 is Climate Week. Entries for Climate Week Awards are now open. Details and categories for entry can be found at http://www.climateweek.com/awards/. Think about what you have done this year to combat climate change and make Britain a more sustainable, low-carbon society? If you are an Organisation, a community, or an individual and you want to promote your work on climate change, take a look at the Climate Week Awards. Numerous categories are available. Deadline is 30th January 2012. January 2012 Updated guidance on Strategic Environmental Assessment and Climate ChangeThe Environment Agency has published an updated version of their 'Strategic Environmental Assessment and Climate Change: Guidance for Practitioners' (pdf on EA website). Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), either alone or as part of Sustainability Appraisal (SA), can help to ensure that plans and programmes take full account of climate change issues and help support government targets. The SEA Directive is about assessing the effects of certain plans and programmes on the environment. This guidance suggests how climate change issues can be considered in SEA in England and Wales. It presents information on the causes and impacts of climate change and how they can be described and evaluated in SEA. It also describes how adaptation and mitigation measures can be developed through SEA. The guidance is primarily for plan-makers, responsible authorities and consultants preparing SEAs or SAs. However, it could be useful for anyone involved in preparing or reviewing SEAs or SAs. It replaces the original version published in 2004, and the updated version published in 2007. It reflects updated information on SEA and climate change and complements the UK Practical Guide to the SEA Directive. September 2011 Climate Change Reality Project's 24 Hours of Reality - 14th September 201124 Presenters. 24 Time Zones. 13 Languages. 1 Message. 24 Hours of Reality is a worldwide event to broadcast the reality of the climate crisis. It will consist of a new multimedia presentation created by Al Gore and delivered once per hour for 24 hours, representing every time zone around the globe. Each hour people living with the reality of climate change will connect the dots between recent extreme weather events - including floods, droughts and storms - and the manmade pollution that is changing our climate. A round-the-clock, round-the-globe snapshot of the climate crisis will be offered in real time. 24 Hours of Reality will be broadcast live online from September 14 to 15, over 24 hours, representing 24 time zones and 13 languages. For more information about the project see: http://climaterealityproject.org/. September 2011 New climate change adaptation delivery programme - joint statement from Environment Agency and Climate UKFrom 1 October 2011, the Environment Agency will take on a new role as the delivery body for the Government's climate change adaptation programme in England. As part of the programme, the Environment Agency and Climate UK have developed a new partnership agreement to ensure that local partners can access support to help them take action to increase resilience. The partnership aims to ensure that the new programme builds on the existing work and networks already established under the nine Climate Change Partnerships in England. Climate UK, working with the Environment Agency, will help facilitate the programme, building capacity and delivering practical solutions to help businesses, organisations, and communities adapt. Climate UK (incorporated as Climate Partnerships UK CIC) is the recently established umbrella group for the nine English Climate Change Partnerships (CCPs), and includes representation from the devolved administrations. Climate UK has been formed to develop a coordinated approach to promoting action on climate change across the UK. Through Climate UK, the partnerships aim to provide an improved service to local areas by sharing their resources, experience, knowledge and technical expertise across a wide range of sectors. Climate UK will also seek to accelerate activity through securing resources to invest in local and national climate change initiatives. The Environment Agency's new programme aims to 'increase resilience in key sectors to climate risks' and will run from September 2011 to March 2015. It will be targeted across 6 key themes - infrastructure, built environment, business, natural environment, health and local government - and will be available to organisations across the private, public and third sectors who have a stake in increasing the resilience of key assets and services. The Environment Agency and the Climate Change Partnerships have a long track record of working together to deliver shared outcomes on adapting to climate change. The new partnership agreement with Climate UK is for 18 months, until March 2013, when the Environment Agency will be reviewing delivering arrangements in the light of the Government's National Adaptation Programme (due in Spring 2013). If you have queries about the Environment Agency's future adaptation advice service for England, please contact Yuen-Wan Pang at yuen-wan.pang@environment-agency.gov.uk. If you have specific questions relating to Climate UK, please contact Kristen Guida at kristen.guida@climate.uk.net. September 2011 Environment Agency takes on climate adaptation delivery role from 1 OctoberFurther to earlier announcements concerning this change, from 1 October 2011, the Environment Agency will take on a new role as the Government's delivery body in England for advice on climate adaptation, helping key sectors build resilience to the impacts expected from climate change. This role will replace and build on the activity that has been delivered for Defra since 1997 by the UK Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP), which is part of the University of Oxford's Environmental Change Institute. UKCIP's existing contract for this work concludes on 30 September 2011. To help ensure a smooth transition of the service, the Environment Agency and the University of Oxford have agreed that UKCIP will work as a delivery partner to enable the continued provision of resources, support and guidance on adaptation until March 2012, when the handover is expected to be complete. During this time the Environment Agency will also be engaging with a wide range of stakeholders to help shape the new programme. In addition, UKCIP will continue its work within the Environmental Change Institute, where it is responsible for fulfilling a number of contracts on adaptation-related activity. Looking to the future, UKCIP is seeking opportunities to develop and share its experience in climate change adaptation with a wider range of partners and funders. July 2011 Challenges to the UK from international climate changeThe consequences for the UK of climate change occurring in other parts of the world could be as important as climate change directly affecting these shores, according to a Foresight report, published this month by the Government Office for Science. The 'International Dimensions of Climate Change' report was launched at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) by FCO Minister for Climate Change Henry Bellingham. This important new report shows that the UK could be vulnerable to adverse impacts from climate change abroad. More attention therefore needs to be given to how the effects of climate change in other countries may have domestic impacts here. The report has identified a wide range of risks to the UK from climate change impacts in other parts of the world, which may have implications for:
Other UK areas that could be affected from climate change impacts abroad include: health and the UK's role on the global stage. The report demonstrates how the UK is closely interconnected with the global economy, and has an important role in addressing risks internationally. It points to opportunities in business, finance and global leadership, for example: opportunities for key sectors of the UK economy, either where there are recognised strengths in engineering, in insurance and in climate forecasting or where new opportunities are generated because of the need to reduce emissions or adapt to climate change. They include a wide range of green technologies, particularly in the energy sector, such as carbon capture and storage, and new forms of financing for the green economy. The global environmental and low-carbon market was estimated to be £3.2 trillion in 2008/09 with a predicted 4% growth rate to 2013/14, with the UK forecast to achieve up to 3.9% growth in these areas by 2016. Professor Sir John Beddington, the Government's Chief Scientific Adviser and the project's director said: "Our world is getting warmer, and the UK's extensive international economic, political and cultural ties mean that the UK is at increasing risk from impacts of climate change overseas. The UK must not respond by becoming insular but instead broaden its international reach to tackle climate change. This report is designed to help Government consider how these impacts will be felt here in the UK so we can better prepare and adapt for the future." The full report can be downloaded at http://www.bis.gov.uk/foresight. July 2011 New funding system for flood and coastal erosion defence projectsDefra announced on 23rd May that more flood and coastal erosion defence projects across England will receive government money each year under a new funding system. This will replace the current model where schemes applying for money are typically either funded in full by Government or not at all. The new system provides money based on the benefits each project delivers to homes, businesses, agricultural land and infrastructure. Many schemes will still receive full Government funding, whilst others will qualify for a contribution to the final cost. In many cases this government contribution will be worth 80 to 90 per cent of the full scheme cost. Payment rates from Government will be highest in areas most at risk from flooding and in the most deprived areas of the country, meaning that schemes in these areas are more likely to qualify for full funding. Environmental benefits achieved by schemes will also help boost the amount of funding the scheme receives. Under the new scheme each area will have a lot more influence over which projects go ahead because decisions will be made at a local level by regional committees who can better decide where government funding is most needed. The first National Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy was also been laid before Parliament on 23rd May. Subject to parliamentary approval it should be formally adopted later this year. The strategy takes forward a number of recommendations made by Sir Michael Pitt in his review of the 2007 floods. These include giving the Environment Agency a strategic overview role of all sources of flood risk and formalising the roles and responsibilities for Government, local authorities, emergency services and community groups. The announcement can be found on Defra's website at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/2011/05/23/more-flood-defence-schemes/. May 2011 Climate Resilient Infrastructure: Preparing for a Changing ClimateDefra's Secretary of State, Caroline Spelman, launched on 9th May "Climate Resilient Infrastructure: Preparing for a Changing Climate", a cross-Government report which outlines the challenges to the transport, energy, water and ICT infrastructure sectors to adapting to climate change. The report sets out what action needs to be taken by infrastructure owners and operators, regulators, insurers and Government. The report has been produced as a commitment from the Government's National Infrastructure Plan. Actions identified in the report to prepare infrastructure for a changing climate include:
Launching the report, Caroline Spelman said: "Our economy is built on effective transport and communications networks and reliable energy and water supplies. But the economy cannot grow if there are repeated power failures, or goods cannot be transported because roads are flooded and railways have buckled, or if intense rainfall or high temperatures disrupt Wi-Fi signals." She also said: "Infrastructure assets often have lives of at least 50-100 years so they need to be designed to function long into the future when the climate is projected to be very different. This presents great opportunities for British businesses to develop new technologies and processes in engineering, planning and consultancy, ICT-based technologies, renewable energy, investment, and insurance." The report can be found on Defra's website at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/climate/sectors/infrastructure-companies/. May 2011 Environment Agency to take on role as Government's delivery body in England for advice on climate adaptationDefra has announced this month that the Environment Agency (EA) will take on a new, additional role as the Government's delivery body in England for advice on climate adaptation - the actions needed to build our resilience to the changes and impacts projected such as hotter, drier summers; warmer, wetter winters; and an increased risk of severe weather and flooding. Defra will provide the EA with an additional £2millon per year to deliver climate adaptation advice, an increase on the current £1.5million per year budget paid to the current delivery partners, the UK Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP) and the UK's regional climate change partnerships. In September 2011, the Environment Agency will take over as Defra's principal partner in delivering the Government's adaptation programme. The EA will work closely with UKCIP, whose contract runs to the end of September, to ensure a smooth transition. The EA will finalise its plans for taking on the additional role over the coming months. Adapting to climate change advice is currently delivered for Defra by the UK Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP), Regional Climate Change Partnerships (including Climate SouthWest) and the Local & Regional Adaptation Partnership (LRAP). Defra's announcement can be found from this link: http://ww2.defra.gov.uk/news/2011/03/22/ea-climate-change-adaptation/. March 2011 |
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The winners of Climate SouthWest's 'Whatever the Weather' photo competition have now been announced. Sponsored by the National Trust, the competition was a chance to highlight the effects of extreme weather and climate change in the South West, and to
showcase the talents of local photographers. 86 fantastic entries were received and were judged by representatives from the National Trust, Environment Agency and Met Office.