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Climate Change

"Climate change is not an environmental issue, but much more to do with security and economics" - Jonathon Porritt

The River Avon flooding the highway at Mead Lane in Saltford as a result of heavy rainfall associated with Hurricane Dennis, 17 February 2020.

Climate change has been described as the greatest and most profound challenge facing humanity in the 21st Century. It requires two responses:

mitigation by reducing CO2 emissions through the more sustainable use of energy, i.e. using less energy through efficiency and then using cleaner renewable sources where appropriate (our 'Energy' page covers this area), and

adaptation so that our communities are more resilient and less vulnerable to climate change and extreme weather events.

The purpose of this page is to help Saltford as a community become more resilient to extreme weather and to adapt to climate change.

Background & making Saltford more resilient

NOTE: We publish news on this topic on the news section of our home page.

To prevent the most severe impacts of climate change, the international community has agreed that it should work together to try and ensure that global warming rise well below a threshold of 2^oC compared to the temperature in pre-industrial times by pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5^oC.

Taking account of the existing observed increase of around 0.85^oC (from 1880 to 2012) this means we need to avoid a further global temperature rise of less than the existing increase that has been caused by human activities.

The need to avoid a potential overshoot was underlined by Hoesung Lee, Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), addressing the G7 Environment Meeting, Bologna, Italy, on 11 June 2017 :-

   "Regarding the probability of extreme temperature events, the global occurrence probability of a 1-in-a-1000 day extreme temperature event is projected to be about double as the warming increases from 1.5^o to 2.0^o. The probability would be five times higher than today."

In November 2014 the IPCC released its Synthesis Report that distils and integrates the findings of the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report produced by over 800 scientists and released over the previous 13 months - the most comprehensive assessment of climate change ever undertaken. The headline message was that "Fossil Fuels should be phased out by 2100" and that most of the world's electricity can, and must, be produced from low-carbon sources by 2050.

However, regardless of action taken to curb anthropogenic carbon emissions (i.e. from human activities), some changes to our climate are unavoidable due to past emissions already in the climate system; the longevity of CO2 in the atmosphere is estimated by scientists to be up to 200 years or more whereas other greenhouse gases are relatively short-lived.

We shall increasingly experience hotter, drier summers and wetter, milder winters, with more extreme weather events. Those extreme weather events will be summer heatwaves, prolonged droughts, stormy weather (higher wind velocities), heavy rainfalls causing flash flooding, and severe winter cold spells* can be expected to continue to impact on the UK including the local area.

*Unpredictable changes to the location and strength of the jet stream that bring storms and weather systems across the Atlantic is another factor arising from climate change that also affects our weather patterns (e.g. cold/hot spells or additional rainfall in some winters and summers).

The consequences of climate change impacts for local communities like Saltford are many and varied. These range from effects on health, damage and disruption to property, electricity, telephones and transport networks, fuel shortages, disruption or closure of businesses, schools etc., animal welfare issues, and problems with food supplies (short and medium-long term). In being aware of what these hazards and problems might be it is important to maintain a sense of perspective and not be unduly alarmed. However, if we adapt and prepare for climate change we can reduce or even avoid many of the worst effects.

We have set out below some actions we can take to make our homes, gardens, business premises and business activities more resilient and less vulnerable to climate change and extreme weather.

Homes, gardens & business premises

This list is by no means exhaustive but should get you thinking on what you can do to keep your home or business premises cool in heatwaves, warm in winter, reduce the risk of flood and other damage to your property, and maintain a more resilient garden:-

• Insulate your home to keep heat out in the summer and in during the winter - see our Energy page for advice, tips, grants etc.

• Use pale, reflective external paints.

• Blinds and shutters can reduce solar gain through windows (many older buildings were originally equipped with shutters which have since been removed or no longer function).

• Roof maintenance will become increasingly important as higher winds and storms can inflict damage. Chimneys and chimney pots are usually the most exposed part of a house and may become unstable if poorly maintained. Severe winds can dislodge or remove roof coverings.

• Grow trees and leafy plants near windows to act as natural air-conditioners (but maintain/prune trees close to buildings to a sensible height, taking expert advice as necessary, as poorly managed trees can become vulnerable to higher wind speeds).

• When choosing new trees to plant, consider the future climate they will be expected to endure (see links below for Forestry Commission advice).

• Landscape your garden by integrating green landscaping which will have cooling effects and reduce rainwater run-off, decreasing flood-risk.

• Surface flash-flooding is exacerbated by the extensive paving-over of open ground for roads, footpaths, driveways, and even paved gardens. Consider the benefits of absorbent rather than non-absorbent front and rear garden surfaces.

• Gardens can provide a safe haven for wildlife suffering from extreme weather and climate change. We will periodically feature articles on our gardening or wildlife pages on how to make our gardens more wildlife friendly taking into account climate change.

• Harvest rainwater in your garden (e.g. install a water butt that is closed to prevent mosquito access and breeding) and choose plants that require less summer watering.

• Keep in regular contact with elderly/frail neighbours during heatwaves and severe cold weather.

• If you live in a flood risk area*, you can register to receive flood warnings (gov.uk: sign up for flood warnings - external site). You can also take measures to reduce risks to your property - see tips below.
  
  *You can check if you live in a flood risk area here: Long term flood risk assessment for locations in England (external site).

Tips for making your property better prepared for flooding

The Environment Agency provides advice on measures to protect buildings in flood zones so that damage is limited and more readily corrected after a flood event. These include:-

- buy purpose-built flood boards that can be installed when flooding is imminent and raise door thresholds;

- fit non-return valves to drains and water inlet and outlet pipes;

- dry-line walls and use horizontal plasterboard, or lime-based plaster instead of gypsum;

- lay tiles with rugs rather than fitted carpets, which often need to be replaced after a flood;

- raise electrical sockets, fuse boxes, controls and wiring to at least 1.5 metres above floor level. If rewiring, bring cables down the wall to the raised socket so that cabling isn't affected;

- in kitchens and bathrooms, use water resistant materials such as stainless steel, plastic or solid wood rather than chipboard. Where possible raise fridges and appliances on plinths;

- fix your audio-visual equipment, for example your TV and hi-fi, to the wall about 1.5 metres above floor level.

Further advice and guidance can be obtained from the Environment Agency Floodline service 0345 988 1188.

Local business response

Almost 60% of small firms do not have plans in place for extreme weather with no resilience plans whereas 66% said their business had been affected by snow, drought or floods in the last 3 years - FSB Survey (2014)

It makes good business sense for our local businesses to maintain an awareness of climate change issues and to respond to the challenges posed.

This approach enables business to:

• maintain the business (reduce risk of interruption including to supply chain, workforce, transport, infrastructure, & reduce lost sales due to changing customer demands);

• exploit business opportunities as an early mover in response to market changes (e.g. expanding or new market, changing customer demands/lifestyles, market leader, reputation);

• manage risks proportionate to other risks (& effect on insurance premiums);

• manage strategic assets and long-term investment;

• achieve and maintain Business Continuity; and

• avoid unnecessary expenditure (e.g. damage or degradation of building fabric etc.) arising from impacts.

See the the UKCIP Adaptation Wizard in our 'Further information & useful links' section below to see how to undertake a vulnerability assessment of your business to help you develop and implement a climate change adaptation strategy.

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Further information & useful links

UKCIP Adaptation Wizard (Tool)

The UKCIP Adaptation Wizard is a 5-step process to help you assess your organisation's vulnerability to current climate and future climate change, identify options to address your organisation's key climate risks, and help you develop and implement a climate change adaptation strategy. The Wizard is also a guide to information, tools and resources to help you. To access the UKCIP Adaptation Wizard on the UK Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP c/o University of Oxford) website, click here: Adaptation Wizard.

Environment Agency Floodline 0345 988 1188 (24-hour service)

'Warming to the idea' report

Our Chairman (Phil Harding) was involved in the production of the 2010 report, Warming to the idea, that looked at how the SW region could build its resilience to extreme weather and climate change. This comprehensive report, produced under the auspices of the Environment Agency, features future seasonal climate change projections to the 2080s, gives business sector advice on the impacts and opportunities those sectors can expect and looks at impacts on the natural environment, economy, society and infrastructure. You can download a pdf copy here: 'Warming to the idea' 2010 report (pdf 4.8MB).

Some appropriate definitions:

RESILIENCE - the ability of a system to absorb disturbance and still retain its basic function and structure.

ADAPTATION - modification that makes an organism/organisation more fit for existence under the conditions of its environment.

CLIMATE - the average conditions in the atmosphere near the earth's surface over a long period of time (30 years).

EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS - these arise when natural variations in the weather and climate combine with long-term climate change.

WEATHER - state of the atmosphere (temperature, cloudiness, dryness, precipitation, sunshine, wind, etc.) at a place and time, i.e. what's happening outside right now.

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Links

B&NES Council Responding to the Climate Emergency

BBC's 'A brief history of climate change'

Climate Change and your Home - Green & Low Carbon Construction Directory

Climate Change, What is? - from the Met Office

Cold Weather Plan for England - includes advice on keeping vulnerable people warm and healthy (see also 'Heatwave Plan for England' below)

Defra: Climate Change Adaptation - what the government's doing

Flooding, Prepare for - advice on how to plan and prepare for flooding and protect your property (from gov.uk)

Heatwave Plan for England - includes advice on keeping cool and healthy

Tree species and provenance - advice from Forest Research (the research agency of the Forestry Commission) on choosing the correct tree for a changing climate

UK Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP) - at University of Oxford - helping organisations, sectors and governments adapt to the changing climate through the generation, exchange and application of knowledge

UK Climate Projections - climate projections on Met Office website

United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals to transform our world - Goal 13 "Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts"

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