Posted on 10/07/19 by Kristen Guida
News and Past Events
CCC Decries Government’s “Dad’s Army” Approach to Climate Change The Climate Change Committee issued its joint adaptation/mitigation progress report for the UK, and the findings are stark: Only a handful of sectors have plans that consider a minimum temperature rise of 2°C, let alone 4°. Twelve of 33 sectors have no plans at all, and none of the 33 priority areas score well in reducing vulnerability and exposure to climate risks. The CCC asserts that a strategic national plan for adaptation does not exist, in favour of an inadequate policy of leaving adaptation responses to local communities. They recommend that all relevant policies need to account for at least 2° of warming, with consideration of more extreme scenarios, and that government ramp up resources for adaptation. Its poor performance will strain the UK’s credibility in the event that it hosts the COP next year.
London Climate Action Week LCCP organized three events with partners for London’s first Climate Action Week:
Other highlights from the week:
Cape Town Day Zero Documentary For London Climate Action Week, The Resilience Shift hosted a film screening and panel discussion about the lessons that cities like London can learn from Cape Town’s water crisis. You can watch it here.
Also worth reading: Katrin Bruebach’s 100 Resilient Cities post about Cape Town and the City Water Resilience Approach.
Climate Change Lawsuits increasing The Grantham Research Institute has published a report on global trends in climate change litigation during the year to May 2019. It found that cases have been brought in at least 28 countries, more than three-quarters of those in the United States. Lawsuits by investors, activist shareholders, cities, and states against governments are most common, although ones against greenhouse gas emitting companies are increasing. Evidence is still out on the impact of this litigation, however.
ISO 14090: Adapting to Climate Change Standard Launched The producers of this new standard, which sets out principles, requirements, and guidelines for adaptation to climate change, are looking for organizations to test it. The process involves integrating adaptation within or across organizations and understanding impacts and uncertainties and how these can be used to inform decisions. It is applicable to any organization, regardless of size, sector, or objectives. If your organization is interested in taking part, email Kristen.
Research Funding Opportunities The Strategic Priorities Fund UK Climate Resilience Programme is inviting expressions of interest for a number of research funding opportunities. Led by the Met Office and UKRI, the programmes aim to address knowledge gaps in characterisation and quantification of climate-related risks and support the development of effective adaptation strategies. A call will be published in the week of 22 July, with funds being awarded in October. Find out more about the project aims and how to bid here.
NHS Long-Term Plan implementation In January the NHS published its Long-Term Plan, including the Sustainable Development commitments in a core national health policy for the first time. Earlier this month, they published the Long-Term Plan implementation framework, which sets out how the commitments in the plan will be delivered. LCCP will be working with PHE and the NHS SDU to help support delivery of the framework through our health networks and ensure that longer-term issues like climate change are considered.
New Adaptation Guidance for Local Government The Local Adaptation Advisory Panel, which is convened by Defra as a forum for promoting local government action on adaptation, launched a guidance document at the ADEPT conference in June. For six relevant local authority service areas, the guidance sets out initial and “maturing” adaptation options and examples of good practice. The intention is that this guidance will be updated with new actions, examples, and service areas over time.
Transport Adaptation Steering Group The TASG met on 26 June and heard about the new National Infrastructure Commission resilience study, the C40 framework for adaptation monitoring and reporting, Kent County Council projects on adaptation pathways and impacts monitoring, and London’s severe drought framework. The TASG brings together colleagues from national and local transport organizations and others to share knowledge, provide a sounding board for TfL’s adaptation plans, and to agree activities such as the sector response to the Adaptation Reporting Power.
Heat Risk in London Group The Heat Risk group met on 7 June and discussed a project modelling the urban heat island and corresponding health risks, the health impacts of the 2018 hot and cold weather events, the CIBSE School Design Group work on adaptation, and data collection capabilities available through the European Space Agency and Kings College London.
“Less-Heard” Voices in Civil Society for Resilience LCCP hosted and co-organized a seminar on 21 June examining our perceptions and misconceptions about vulnerability and resilience. Robin Leichenko, a professor at Rutgers University in the US and advisor to the New York City Panel on Climate Change, gave an excellent talk about New York’s approach to incorporating equity into climate change adaptation planning. Participants also heard about a number of projects supporting resilience in communities, and discussed who the “less-heard” voices are and how to make sure they’re heard in local planning. The event was part of a nation-wide seminar series looking at the role of civil society in resilience.
Forward Look
for more information about any events, contact Kristen unless otherwise specified.
November
4-8: Green Great Britain Week 2019.
If you have news you’d like included in our update, let us know.