District Matters

Challenges of Climate Change

July 2023

Now, more than ever, we have to face up to the challenges of climate change that lie ahead. Decisive action is needed if we are to achieve our goals of meeting national targets. That is the conclusion of the recent 2023 UK Climate Change Committee (CCC) Report to Parliament on annual progress in reducing CO2 emissions. It makes for depressing reading.

At all levels of government, we need the policies and finance to enable, support and empower people to make low carbon lifestyle choices. This will lead to healthier lives and deliver financial benefits. Delivering these policies and raising the necessary finance will not be easy. We need the national government to assist, and we need local communities on board.

The CCC report highlighted one government failure in particular. Insufficient support has been given nationally for home insulation programmes. This left many families struggling to pay energy bills last winter. British Gas has already said that household energy bills are likely to remain high for the foreseeable future. Insulating a home delivers the duel benefit of lower energy bills and reduced CO2 emissions.

Climate change is already here. Human activity has led to 1.2°C of global warming from pre-industrial levels, resulting in damaging impacts on lives, infrastructure and ecosystems. Now there is around a 66% chance that the world will warm by more than 1.5°C by 2027.

Keeping below 1.5°C would limit the risks and help protect key ecosystems. Going beyond 1.5°C risks wilder, more unpredictable and extreme weather. The more we overshoot 1.5°C, the harder it will be to control. This June has been the hottest on record in the UK.

In 2020, Stratford-on Avon District Council accepted my Notice of Motion asking the District Council to do more to tackle climate change. I chaired the working group that reported in 2021 with an action plan. As the new Leader and Chair of the Climate Change Panel, I have requested a review of progress with the action plan.

My interest in the impacts of climate change started when I attended a lecture at the University of Birmingham given by an eminent professor and early author for the International Panel on Climate Change. Both my Master's degree and my PhD were in biodiversity. I then developed a career in resource management, renewable energy and climate-change related subjects.

In 1999, the District Council showed vision in funding an energy efficiency centre – now we need similar vision and adequate finance from government to tackle the challenges ahead. Investment in renewable energy and household energy efficiency go some way to tackling the problem but we also need to support local businesses to achieve resource efficiency and avoid the risks related to high-energy costs.

I recently attended Alcester Town Council's climate change workshop. Organised with an external grant from Warwick and Stratford District Councils and support from Council officers, the aim was to enable work with the local community. So many local people are now beginning to organise action on climate change, and they need our support to move forward.

All our decisions must ensure that we consider the impact of climate change on the residents we serve and on their environment. Sustainable transport, flood prevention and healthy green spaces must be in our plan. We all benefit from a healthy, green environment. We must continue to lead the fight against climate change.