Solar Bear & Other StoriesClimate Change From The Inside

Pete HillChartered 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 EastThe 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.

Heat wave Summer 2003

Feb 2008

After The Polar Bears Who’s Next?DirectHeat WavesFloods and Storms – risks from contamination and stressPoor Air qualityIncrease in Food Borne IllnessIncreased Exposure to Ultra Violet Radiation

IndirectVector Borne diseases – eg Lymes Disease, Dengue Fever, MalariaClimate MigrationWidening 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.

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

A Starting PointNovember 2006

KLOE 3.1 Use of Natural ResourcesThe Big Driver

Audit Rating 1-4

Welwyn Hatfield June 2009 – Level 1

Welwyn Hatfield March 2010 – Level 3 (pending)

NI 185 – Energy Efficiency

Water Resources

Environmental Risk

Green Travel

Withdrawn 2010

Where To Get Involved!

Community Strategy

Business Plan

Team Plans

Appraisal Scheme

Welwyn Hatfield Alliance & Hertfordshire Forward

Other regional plans and strategies

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 inThe 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 GroupExecutive Board

Director of Strategy &

Development

Climate Change Group

Service Teams

Representatives from all service areas.

Meetings every 6 weeks or more frequently if required

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 journeysRecords are all paper basedCO2 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 yearsThe move resulted in over 200 redundancies and a cut in our NI186 figures!

Climate Change Strategy & Action Plan1.Energy Efficiency2.Water3.Biodiversity & Open Spaces4.Planning5.Waste & Recycling6.Procurement & Contracted Out Services7.Transportation8.Staff & Community Engagement9.Climate Change & Health10.Adaptation

Mitigation and target setting• NI185 – baseline emission for 2007/8 calculated and a target of reducing

CO2 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 PlanningTravel 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 BearCouncils 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 solar@welhat.gov.uk

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!

• Not In My Back Yard

• 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

Option 1:GCC is False

Option 2:GCC is True

Given our optionsthe choices fall into two simple categories

Yes!Taking Action

No!Inaction

CostEconomic Hardships

No significant Loss

Better preparedFloodsFamineDroughtsEconomic 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 HillChartered Environmental

Health Practitioner

Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council

01707-357404

P.Hill@Welhat.gov.uk