Solar Bear & Other Stories

Climate Change From The Inside

Pete Hill Chartered Environmental Health Practitioner

The Story So Far…..

Welwyn Hatfield

'A Town Designed for Healthy Living‘

Built soon after the First World War, Welwyn Garden City was the vision of social reformer and town planning pioneer Sir Ebenezer Howard. The name of Hatfield is closely associated with the history of British aviation and Hatfield house

Climate Change Risks in The East

The UKCIP09 climate change scenarios indicate that the Climate change risks we could face in our region are: • Hotter, drier summers, • Milder, wetter winters, • More frequent extreme high temperatures, • More frequent heavy downpours of rain, • Significant decreases in soil moisture content in summer, • Sea level rise and increases in storm surge height, • Possible higher wind speeds.

Feb 2008 Heat wave Summer 2003

After The Polar Bears Who’s Next?

Direct

Heat Waves Floods and Storms – risks from contamination and stress Poor Air quality Increase in Food Borne Illness Increased Exposure to Ultra Violet Radiation

Indirect

Vector Borne diseases – eg Lymes Disease, Dengue Fever, Malaria Climate Migration Widening Health Inequalities

•Publicly declare within appropriate plans and strategies the commitment to achieve a significant reduction of greenhouse gases from our own authorities operations especially energy sourcing and use, travel and transport, waste production and disposal, and the purchasing of goods and services.

A Starting Point November 2006

• Assess the risk associated with Climate Change and the implications for our services and our communities of Climate Change and adapt accordingly.

KLOE 3.1 Use of Natural Resources

The Big Driver

Audit Rating 1-4 Welwyn Hatfield June 2009 – Level 1 NI 185 – Energy Efficiency

2010

Water Resources Environmental Risk Green Travel

Where To Get Involved!

Community Strategy Business Plan

Welwyn Hatfield Alliance & Hertfordshire Forward

Team Plans

Other regional plans and strategies

Appraisal Scheme

The Borough’s Sustainable Corporate Strategy

Corporate Priorities are represented by five Promises focusing on the communities needs

Maintaining and enhancing a cleaner and greener environment –

enhancing recycling;

responding to the challenges of Climate Change;

improving the street scene and improving waste management

Corporate Business Plan 2010-2015

•

Maintaining and Enhancing a Cleaner and Greener Environment – enhancing recycling and

• improving waste management, responding to the challenges of climate change and improving the • street scene.

2.2.1 Complete the delivery of all 2010-11 targets set out in

The Council’s Climate Change Strategy Action Plan

Working Internally on Climate Change

• KLOE 3.1 Use of Natural Resources • Climate Change Group • National Indicators • Briefing for Managers on Adaptation / Mitigation • Including Climate Change in Committee Reports • Green Day Back To The Future Staff Event • Green Travel Planning • Updated Web Page • Green Guide To Savings

Corporate Climate Change Group

Executive Board

Representatives from all service areas.

Director of Strategy & Development Climate Change Group Meetings every 6 weeks or more frequently if required Service Teams

Agreed National Indicators

• • Agreed on four National Indicators related to Climate Change: NI185, 186, 187 and 188 First Reporting Round Complete

NI 185 in Practice!

Need to record car mileage and business journeys Records are all paper based CO2 had to be calculated and input manually over 2 months!

NI 186 in Practice!

In 2008 the Shredded Wheat Factory in Welwyn Garden City closed after 76 years The move resulted in over 200 redundancies and a cut in our NI186 figures!

Climate Change Strategy & Action Plan

1.Energy Efficiency 2.Water

3.Biodiversity & Open Spaces 4.Planning

5.Waste & Recycling 6.Procurement & Contracted Out Services 7.Transportation

8.Staff & Community Engagement 9.Climate Change & Health 10.Adaptation

Mitigation and target setting

• • NI185 – baseline emission for 2007/8 calculated and a target of reducing CO 2 emissions in its operations by 10% by 2013 set in March 2010.

Having set a baseline robust but achievable targets adopted for reductions in emissions. This will involve a big cultural change in the organisation • Mitigation; financial sustainability, intelligent decision making, reducing reliance on energy consumption, energy security • Initial steps include preparing a sustainable procurement strategy, Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan, Green Travel plan, Waste and Recycling Strategy, walking and cycling strategies.

Green Day Back To The Future

• Over 150 staff attended • Exhibits on….

• Food Miles • Energy Efficiency • Planning and Sustainable Design • Bugs of the Future • Wake Up Freak Out • Back To The Past Food in 1940 • Executive Board in the Future • Act on CO2 Pledge – 95 signed up!

Team Talk 2025

Remembering The Big Flood Plans Underway for next Senior Citizens Evacuation Bumper Year for Council Garden Beware Carbon Credit Fraudsters The Golden Wind Farm Awards A Day in the Life of Moz Quito

Green Travel Planning

Travel Survey Mapping Responses Concentrate on those within bandings Better Transport Information Low Emission Driving Approach Cycle To Work Scheme Car Share

Green Driving!

• In Hertfordshire few alternatives for certain journeys – east west links are non existent. • Local Authorities have Car Loan Schemes most have no incentive to purchase low emission vehicles.

• Plan to introduce scheme tailored to emission ratings i.e. 100% loan for bandings A-C • More miles more money?

• Why not less miles more money?

• Can we pay for bikes?

•

The role of WHBC in working with the Community on Climate Change

Community leaders – setting an example • Influence residents, businesses and voluntary organisations through partnership (WHA) • Green stall at town centre events, Kaleidoscope Festive, new Climate Change Website, Love food Hate Waste Campaign, Fuel Poverty, • Welwyn Hatfield Green Page

Introducing Solar Bear

Councils Climate Change Emblem Competition for a name launched at Green Event in WGC gained over 100 entries The Solar Bear Wall appears at Community Events Solar has his own corporate e-mail box [email protected]

Hoped to develop character in future for education on Climate Change issues.

Negotiations to give Solar his own Facebook Page.

The Green Page

Linking Climate Change and Health

• Higher Temperatures lead to poorer air quality • In the UK there are approximately 1 million COPD Patients and 5% of the population is affected by asthma.

• In 2003 Heat waves caused 30,000 excess deaths in Europe • Emergency admissions cost NHS £11bn per year. • Local Authorities are perfectly placed to contact the community.

The rest of this presentation consists of the thoughts of an Environmental Health Practitioner with 25 years + experience not those of his employer.

Planning

• Inconsistency!

• N ot I n M y B ack Y ard • Lack of Teeth – Code for Sustainable Homes?

• More work on Low Carbon Lifestyles

Budgets!

• £1.7 million cut (approx 12%) • Statutory Services First • Climate Change a Luxury?

• Uncertain Science?

• Need Short Term Gains not Long Term.

• Smart Meters, mandatory? Data charging? • Who’s responsible, who’s ear, how powerful?

• Office Recycling a real example!

Climate Change – The New Reality

“If I told the Councillors three of you were doing this two of you would be down the job centre tomorrow” “It may come down to asking the public whether they want meals on wheels or Climate Change.”

Communities of Practice Poll:-

Do you feel the outcome of the Election has been good for Climate Change?

48% replied “I’ll tell you when I find out if I’ve still got a job” 10 years ago we had a lot of the component parts until budget cuts stripped it away – Will history repeat itself?

Global Climate Change Risk Assessment

Yes!

Taking Action No!

Inaction Option 1: GCC is False Option 2: GCC is True

Cost Economic Hardships Better prepared No significant

Given our

Loss

options the choices fall into two

Floods Famine

simple

Droughts

categories

Economic Hardships

Climate Change Challenges!

• • • • Political and administrative process (coordinating a large audience into decision making)

Communicating the importance and impacts

– invisibility of causes, distant impacts, lack of immediacy and direct experience of the impacts, lack of gratification for taking mitigating actions, disbelief in human's global influence, complexity and uncertainty,) Influencing people (changing mindsets, cultures, language barrier) – the challenging nature of scientific language and the framing of the issue.

Prioritising – easy to overlook distant, long-term, yet urgent Climate Change mitigation and adaptation measures

Thank You

Only when the last tree is cut; only when the last river is polluted; only when the last fish is caught; only then will they realise that you cannot eat money. Cree Tribe (circa 1860)

Pete Hill Chartered Environmental Health Practitioner Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council 01707-357404 [email protected]