Weathering the Storm - Saving and Making Money in a Changing Climate
-
Upload
climatereadyorguk -
Category
Documents
-
view
215 -
download
0
Transcript of Weathering the Storm - Saving and Making Money in a Changing Climate
-
7/27/2019 Weathering the Storm - Saving and Making Money in a Changing Climate
1/12
Weathering the Storm -
Saving and Making Moneyin a Changing Climate
A Practical Guide for Farmers
and Land Managers in the
East Midlands
Updated 2013
-
7/27/2019 Weathering the Storm - Saving and Making Money in a Changing Climate
2/12
CLIMATE EAST MIDLANDS | ADAPTATION GUIDE FOR BUSINESS
2
-
7/27/2019 Weathering the Storm - Saving and Making Money in a Changing Climate
3/12
What do I need to know?
What are the eects o a changing climate likely to be? 1
How do weather and climate impact my business? 2
What can I do to prepare?
So, whats in it or my business? 3
How might I be aected? 4
Emergency contacts and important inormation 5
Checklist 6
Useful tools and further information 7
Content
This guide has been updated andpublished by Climate East Midlands, July
2013.
It has been adapted rom a conceptoriginated and developed by the
ollowing unding partners within the
West Midlands, in collaboration with
the UK Climate Impacts Programme(UKCIP) and the Government Ofce
West Midlands:
The West Midlands Climate ChangeAdaptation Partnership
Advantage West MidlandsEnvironment Agency
Business Link West MidlandsDEFRA
Quoting, copying and reproduction or
business purposes is permitted so long asull acknowledgement is given.
-
7/27/2019 Weathering the Storm - Saving and Making Money in a Changing Climate
4/12
Weathering the Storm
1
What do I need to know?
What are the effectsof a changing climatelikely to be?
More frequent and severe ooding
The majority o ooding is caused by heavy rainall which
can lead to rivers overtopping their banks or drainage
systems being unable to cope with the volume o water. In
the East Midlands, the estimated increase in average winter
rainall is 6% by the 2020s.
The period rom April to June 2012 was the wettest onrecord, and 2012 saw the wettest summer in 100 years.
The BBC reported that this cost Britains rural economy 1
billion. Farmers, tourist businesses and events organisers
were aected.
The oods o 2007 cost Lincolnshire County Council
1.85m in roads and property damage. The oods also
caused disruption to major inrastructure such as the
closure o the M1 at J30.
Do you know i your business (or key employees homes)
are in a ood risk area? I so, would your business survive a
serious ood? How would electric and computer systems,
stock and machinery be aected? How long would it take
to recover?
Hotter summers and milder winters
By the 2020s, the average summer temperature in the East
Midlands may increase by 1.4 C. Heatwaves are likely to
become more requent.
Seasonal timings will change, growing seasons lengthen,
and new crops may become viable. However, there will alsobe less water available or crops and l ivestock, more pests
and diseases, and a greater risk o heat stress aecting
animal health and welare.
In the East Midlands, it is estimated that the average
winter temperature may increase by 1.3 C by the 2020s.
Drought
A 4% reduction in summer rainall is estimated by the
2020s which, combined with increased temperatures,
could result in more droughts in the East Midlands. Water
shortages, particularly in the summer, could become more
requent.
Changes in water availability could pose risks to critical
growth periods and irrigated crops.
Storms and wind
Storm events can cause severe short term impacts
including disruption to services. Northamptonshire
experienced 66 extreme weather events between 1998and 2008, causing the county council 1.33m o property
insurance claims excluding costs due to loss o service
provision and sta time.
The requency and severity o storms and strong winds
may change. However, there is currently no evidence to
suggest an increase in the requency or severity o storms
or strong winds up to the 2050s.
Note: The above estimates o how the climate is likely
to change are taken rom the UK Climate Projections
2009 (UKCP09). The projections are based on emissions
scenarios, and show a range o possible outcomes and the
probability o each outcome. The fgures quoted above
are the central estimates based on the high emissions
scenario. For more inormation on UKCP09 see
http://ukclimateprojections.dera.gov.uk/
Few people know as much
as farmers about adapting
to our changeable weather.This guide builds on that
knowledge by looking longer
term at how the threats
and opportunities can be
managed to build
the resilience of farm
businesses.
Andrew Wells, Arable Alliance Ltd andFarming Advice Service consultant
-
7/27/2019 Weathering the Storm - Saving and Making Money in a Changing Climate
5/12
Weathering the Storm
2
How do weather andclimate impact mybusiness?
The government tasked armers and land managers with
reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The industry has
committed to deliver this through The Greenhouse Gas
Action Plan. In addition, ood security is now high priority,
and energy and input costs on arm are rising.
Just over a third o all armers surveyed in England by
Farming Futures said they were already aected by
climate change, and nearly two thirds expect to beaected in the next 10 years. (Farming Futures Survey,
2011)
2012s wet summer cost rural Britain at least
1bn. Factors included reduced visitor numbers at
countryside attractions, cancelled events, additional
eed costs or livestock armers, and poor crop yields.
(BBC)
The 2007 oods cost East Midlands armers tens o
millions o pounds in lost crops, with several individual
armers losing hal a million pounds each. Losses
were in vegetables and potatoes in Lincolnshire andNottinghamshire, and combinable crops (wheat, barley,
oil seed rape) and grass where the rain ell heaviest
(NFU).
According to Farming Futures Climate Change Survey
2011, 43% o respondents saw unpredictable weather
as the climate change risk most likely to aect their
business. 50% o respondents thought climate change
would present risks and opportunities in equal measure.
In the year April 2011 to March 2012 the Environment
Agency in Midlands East Area restricted 166 abstraction
licences because o low river ows, whereas in the year
April 2012 to March 2013 only 12 abstraction licences
were restricted because o low river ows.
Preparing or a changing climate makes good business sense.
Experience in the East Midlands has shown that extreme
weather could have serious consequences or your business
operations: not just or your arm, but also by disrupting your
suppliers, distribution or customers.
-
7/27/2019 Weathering the Storm - Saving and Making Money in a Changing Climate
6/12
Weathering the Storm
3
What can I do to prepare?
So, whats in itfor my business?
Like any other issue acing your business, it is important
to understand how extreme weather and climate change
impacts could aect you. Planning ahead rather than
responding reactively will help you to:
Manage the risks and costs that severe weather can
bring: build resilience and contingency planning into
your arming operations e.g. irrigation reservoirs or
improved scheduling to combat water shortages.
Save money through resource recycling (capture -storage - reuse) e.g. through rainwater harvesting.
Improve business perormance e.g. more efcient
ood production through improved management o
resources (nutrients, soil, water).
Take advantage o opportunities e.g. to invest in on-
arm renewable energy generation, or to grow energy
crops or exotic ood crops.
Make your environmental and resilience credentials a
selling point.
Whilst some o the actions may have an initial cost, they
should save you money in the long term.
See Farming Futures actsheets or more inormation:
http://www.armingutures.org.uk/resources/actsheets
Case Study: Fred WalterIncreasing resilience
Fred Walter and his amily run a arm near Retord in
Nottinghamshire. The arms wide range o soils has
prompted a variety o arming types: they arm about
1200ha o combinable crops, potatoes and energy
crops as well as a ock o 1200 sheep.
The arms commercial enterprises include short
rotation coppice (SRC) and a planned anaerobic
digester (AD) plant. Both these initiatives will help to
increase the arms resilience by:
Stabilising and improving the soil to help reduce
the impacts o severe weather, and increase the
arms productivity.
The arm is on porous, at, low-lying land, with
high groundwater, prone to ooding, erosion and
leaching o nutrients. Planting willow or SRC helps
to stabilise the soil and reduce soil erosion. It is a
low input crop which requires little in the way o
pesticides or artifcial ertilisers. The products rom
anaerobic digestion orm a consistent source o
nutrient-rich organic matter, which can help improve
soil condition and reduce reliance upon artifcial
ertiliser.
Generating energy on the arm to reduce
vulnerability to rising energy costs.
With SRC, the willow trees are used to produce wood
chip which can be used either or the production
o electricity, or burnt or heat. The AD plant will
provide electricity, and heat or wood drying. The
wood chip is also sold commercially.
Diversiying the arms activities to meet the
challenges that the uture will bring e.g. changes
in the climate, seasons and weather patterns, and
changes in the local and global economies.
This case study draws on a more detailed Farming
Futures case study, ocusing on SRC.
http://www.armingutures.org.uk
-
7/27/2019 Weathering the Storm - Saving and Making Money in a Changing Climate
7/12
Weathering the Storm
4
What can I do to prepare?
How might I be affected?
Ask yourself:
In addition to the potential impacts that are common
to all businesses, the agricultural and horticultural
sector aces a dierent, and additional, set o issues.
These businesses are directly aected by climate, and
extreme weather events can have a signifcant impact.
Ask yoursel how your business may be aected both
negatively and positively by:
Increased rain and increased ood risks.
Reduction in quality and quantity o grass causedby lower rainall and higher temperatures during
summer (which may require eed or livestock to be
supplemented).
Reduced water availability (may aect yields o
ruit, vegetables and cereals and ability to irrigate).
Higher temperatures and increased carbon dioxide
in the atmosphere (some crops may ourish).
Changing climate conditions (could make it possible
to grow alternative crops, including crops or energy).
Heavy rainall events could provide opportunitiesor increased water storage or use during water
shortages.
Higher summer temperatures and reduced cloud
cover (could increase the risk o heatstroke and
sunburn or livestock in open pasture).
Higher average winter temperatures (could reduce
problems or livestock in reezing weather).
Higher winter temperatures and ewer days o
reezing weather (aects vernalisation o winter
cereals and ormation o ower buds on some
ruit trees).
Higher temperatures (could increase the risk o pests
and diseases in arable and horticultural crops).
Higher summer temperatures and reduced cloud
cover (could increase the demand or outdoor leisure
and tourism, which could create opportunities or
diversifcation).
Further information
Farming Futures actsheets: http://www.
armingutures.org.uk/resources/actsheets
A ull list o the Environment Agencys waterconservation publications is available here:
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/
research/library/publications/33993.aspx
Examples o good practice can be ound here:
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/
business/sectors/32757.aspx
Take action:
Think about current trends and potential climate
changes and seek urther advice see below.
Photo courtesy o the NFU
-
7/27/2019 Weathering the Storm - Saving and Making Money in a Changing Climate
8/12
Weathering the Storm
5
Further information
Is your business at risk o ooding? Find out now,
call the Environment Agency Floodline on 0845
988 1188 or visit www.environment-agency.gov.
uk/113798.aspx
The Environment Agency publication Would
your business stay afoat? A guide to preparing
your business or fooding has a simple template
to use to create a ood plan or your company:
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/business/
topics/ooding/32362.aspx
Emergency contacts and important documents
Ask yourself:
Do you have a list o contacts that you can reach
in an emergency? Do your employees have
access to this list?
Have you got a copy o your important
documents saved in a separate location, or
example insurance policies, accounts documents,
chemical inventory, livestock records?
Do you have a back-up o any computer records?
Take action:
Create a list o emergency contacts - see the
template to the right.
Keep your documents in a sae place, or example
away rom the risk o ooding.
Back up any computer records regularly.
What can I do to prepare?
Emergency contact listtemplate
Fire/ Police/ Ambulance ...........................................................
Local police ....................................................................................
Local hospital ...............................................................................
Environment Agency Incident Hotline0800 807 060
Local Authority Emergency Planning
Department ..................................................................................
Water supplier ..............................................................................
Electricity company ...................................................................
Gas company ...............................................................................
Suppliers .........................................................................................
Distributors....................................................................................
Key customers ..............................................................................
Waste management contractor ...........................................
Specialist clean-up contractor ...............................................
Specialist advice..........................................................................
-
7/27/2019 Weathering the Storm - Saving and Making Money in a Changing Climate
9/12
Weathering the Storm
6
Things to do now
Produce an emergency plan, including a list o emergency contacts
Sign up or ree ood alerts rom the Environment Agency call the Flood Line on 0845 988 1188 (alerts can be
sent by phone, text, email, ax or pager)
Ensure all records and important documents are stored in a sae place, including insurance documents
Maintain the efciency o existing feld drainage systems, keep outalls unblocked and ditches ree owing
Ensure buildings are maintained and prepared or more stormy weather
Things to do for longer term resilience
Collect rainwater or use in dry periods or crop irrigation, crop spraying and drinking water or livestock
Improve irrigation application efciency and maintain pumps and underground mains to avoid leaks
Improve the drainage, structure and management o your soils and take steps to avoid soil erosion
Increase slurry and manure storage to allow spreading when best or soil conditions and nutrient utilisation
Improve the inrastructure o your arm to cope with wetter weather e.g. tracks or livestock to prevent
poaching, adequate guttering and drainage to cope with storms
Ensure all ventilation, heating and cooling equipment is working efciently
Be extra vigilant or new pests, diseases and weed invasions to enable early action as necessary
Consider diversiying cropping to build resilience against unpredictable weather and climate
Plant trees as buer strips, to provide shade or livestock, reduce the impacts o ooding, and reduce soil
erosion
What can I do to prepare?
This checklist has been inspired by Farming Futures actsheet 3:
http://www.armingutures.org.uk/resources/actsheets
The actsheet contains additional actions you can take.
Checklist
-
7/27/2019 Weathering the Storm - Saving and Making Money in a Changing Climate
10/12
Weathering the Storm
7
Useful tools and further information
Who How Can They Help? Contact Details
Agriculture and
Horticulture Development
Board (AHDB)
The AHDB delivers research and development, and knowledge transer
programmes to support industry competitiveness and sustainability.
http://www.ahdb.org.uk
Tel: 0247 669 2051
Association o British
Insurers (ABI)
ABI provide advice on insurance issues and have a range o insurance
publications or SMEs
http://www.abi.org.uk
Tel: 020 7600 3333
British Chambers o
Commerce (BCC)
Your Chamber o Commerce can provide advice, support and guidance on
climate change adaptation issues.
Find your local Chamber o Commerce on the website provided
http://www.britishchambers.org.uk
Tel: 020 7654 5800
Business in the
Community (BitC)
Business in the Community is a business-led charity providing practical support
to promote responsible business practice. Its members work together to
transorm communities by tackling issues where business can make a real
dierence.
http://www.bitc.org.uk/
Tel: 020 7566 8650
Climate East Midlands The climate change partnership coordinates action on the causes and
consequences o climate change, and is part o Climate UK.
http://www.climate-em.org.uk
Tel: 07854 284588
Climate UK Climate UK is a not-or-proft Community Interest Company working with
Climate Change Partnerships across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern
Ireland to promote action on climate change. They aim to investigate, inorm
and advise on risks and opportunities presented by climate change, and
coordinate and support integrated, sustainable and eective responses.
The Business Resilience Health Check tool identifes areas where business
operations could be aected by severe weather and climate change, and
produces a bespoke report outlining the actions you can take to make your
business more resilient: http://www.businessresiliencehealthcheck.co.uk
http://www.climateuk.net
Tel: 01664 502 650
Construction Industry
Research and Inormation
Association (CIRIA)
CIRIA provide inormation on the repair and restoration o buildings
ollowing oods
http://www.ciria.org/ooding
Department orEnvironment Food and
Rural Aairs (Dera)
Dera is the lead central government department on cl imate changeadaptation. Dera led on the UKs frst Climate Change Risk Assessment
published in January 2012 and led on the development o the National
Adaptation Programme, published in July 2013.
https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/adapting-to-climate-change
Tel: 08459 335577
Environment Agency (EA) The EA is the lead Government agency in England and Wales on ooding
and broader environmental management and is the Governments delivery
body in England or climate change adaptation. The Climate Ready support
service helps businesses and other organisations prepare or climate change.
Inormation or the Agriculture and Forestry sector can be ound here:
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/research/139933.aspx
Tools and inormation or businesses can be ound here:
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/research/policy/132329.aspx
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk
Tel: 03708 506 506
Farming Advice Service
(FAS)
The FAS is provided by Dera, working with partners, to help improve the
environmental and economic perormance o arming in England. They
provide integrated advice on cross-compliance, nutrient management,competitiveness, and climate change adaptation and mitigation.
http://armingadviceservice.org.uk
Tel: 0845 345 1302
Farming Futures Farming Futures provides armers and land managers with inspiration and
inormation to ensure their business is proftable and sustainable in a changing
economic and environmental climate.
Farming Futures is supported, amongst others, by Dera and the National
Farmers Union (NFU). It provides a series o act sheets and case studies on its
website, prepared or each arming sector:http://www.armingutures.org.
uk/resources/actsheets
http://www.armingutures.org.uk
Tel: 01223 342 313
Federation o Small
Businesses (FSB)
The FSB is the UKs largest campaigning pressure group promoting and
protecting the interests o the sel-employed and owners o small frms.
http://www.sb.org.uk/
Tel: 0808 2020 888
Gov.uk Gov.uk has replaced the Business Link website as the source o Government
services and inormation or businesses. At the time o going to print, the
Business Link helpline is available on 0845 600 9006.
https://www.gov.uk
http://www.gov.uk/http://www.gov.uk/ -
7/27/2019 Weathering the Storm - Saving and Making Money in a Changing Climate
11/12
Useful tools and further information
Who How Can They Help? Contact Details
Institution o
Occupational Saety and
Health (IOSH)
As the biggest health and saety membership organisation in the world, IOSH is
committed to creating a world o work which is sae, healthy and sustainable. IOSH
provides a range o ree guidance and online tools aimed at both the operational and
strategic level.
http://www.iosh.co.uk
Tel: 0116 257 3100
Kitemark Tested and approved ood protection products http://www.kitemark.com
Tel: 0845 0809 000
Met Ofce The UKs national weather service, with orecasts available rom its website. Forecasts
are or anything rom the next ew hours to the coming season
http://www.metofce.gov.uk
Tel: 01392 885680
National Farmers Union
(NFU)
The NFU champions British arming and provides proessional representation and
services to its members.
http://www.nuonline.com
Tel: 024 76858500
National Flood Forum A charity providing support and advice to communities and individuals that have
been ooded or are at risk o ooding. The Blue Pages is a directory o builders,
suppliers and other service providers who install or provide inormation on ood
protection and resilience products: http://www.bluepages.org.uk
http://www.nationaloodorum.
org.uk
Tel: 01299 403055
Natural England An independent public body that works to protect and improve Englands natural
environment.
Inormation or armers and land managers, e.g. on unding schemes such as
Environmental Stewardship and Catchment Sensitive Farming, can be ound here:
http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/inormation_or/armers_and_land_
managers/deault.aspx
Inormation on sustainable adaptation and resilience to climate change can be
ound here: http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/climateandenergy/
climatechange/adaptation/deault.aspx
http://www.naturalengland.org.uk
Tel: 0845 6003078
UK Climate Change Risk
Assessment (UK CCRA)
The Government published the UK Climate Change Risk Assessment in January 2012,
the frst assessment o its kind or the UK, and the frst in a 5 year cycle. Outputs
include a summary report o the key fndings, and a summary report or the Business,
Industry and Services sector.
https://www.gov.uk/government/
publications/uk-climate-change-risk-
assessment-government-report
UK Climate Impacts
Programme (UKCIP) UKCIP helps organisations assess how they might be aected by climate change, sothey can prepare or its impacts. Tools that UKCIP have prepared include BACLIATand CLARA or businesses and business advisors respectively.
http://www.ukcip.org.uk
Tel: 01865 285717
UK Climate Projections
2009 (UKCP09)
Explore the climate projections online. The key fndings or the East Midlands are here:
http://ukclimateprojections.dera.gov.uk/21711
http://ukclimateprojections.dera.
gov.uk
Weathering the Storm
8
-
7/27/2019 Weathering the Storm - Saving and Making Money in a Changing Climate
12/12
Contact Details
W:www.climate-em.org.uk
T:07854 284 588
Address:
Climate East Midlands
Phoenix House
Nottingham Road
Melton Mowbray
LE13 0UL
This guide is printed on FSC certifed, 100% recycled paper, made by an ISO 14001 accredited manuacturer.