Business
52%
Home
26%
Transport
22%
Business
Home
Transport
St. Helens Climate Change Action Plan
March 2009
Review: March 2012
CONTENTS
Foreword4
Chapter 1
What is Climate Change
5
Chapter 2
Why does Climate Change matter to St Helens?
8
Chapter 3
What have we done so far?
11
Chapter 4
The Climate Change Action Plan Where are we now?
14
Chapter 5
The Climate Change Action Plan What do we need to do16
in the future?
A)Home
Where are we now?
17
Actions
23
B)Transport
Where are we now?
33
Actions
36
C)Public & Third SectorWhere are we now?
43
Actions
51
D)Business
Where are we now?
72
Actions
76
Foreword
There are many challenges faced globally, but tackling Climate Change requires a huge effort by many millions of people at a local level, over an extended period of time. If this local effort is successful, the negative impacts faced globally will be averted.
The Climate Change Action Plan 2009-2012 brings together the contribution that local people and local organisations can make. There is no doubt that the task of reducing our impact needs to be shared. The introduction of a reduction in carbon, defined in law is welcomed and still leaves open the challenge of a Zero Carbon Britain, taking a global lead on climate change.
There are many good things happening at the moment to reduce our energy use and the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The plan of action builds on this. It is split into 4 key elements, Home; Transport; Public & Third Sector; and Business. The actions will improve economic, environmental and social performance; at the speed necessary to prevent damage beyond repair.
The strength of any plan is to monitor its success and this will be done frequently and reported widely to residents, businesses and elected members. There is much to be done but this plan literally shapes our future actions. It aims to protect the environment, save natural resources, reduce energy use, increase the role of renewable energy and to help support employment and economic growth.
There are a huge number of people and organisations committed to making a positive contribution to Climate Change. This plan expresses their wishes and sets out who will be responsible for achieving them.
Councillor Kavanagh
Paul Sanderson
Portfolio Member, Environmental Protection
Director of Environmental Protection
Chapter One What is Climate Change?
This chapter aims to give an overview of Climate Change, looking at the causes and consequences, and what can be done to halt the impacts. It begins with defining some of the terminology used in the subject;
Climate refers to the average weather experienced over a long period, typically 30 years. This includes temperature, wind and rainfall patterns. The Earths climate has changed many times in response to natural causes.
Climate Change is defined by the United Nations as referring only to changes in climate that can be attributed to human activity. Furthermore, the use of the term Climate Change usually refers to changes that have occurred since the early 1900s.
Global warming vs. Climate Change - Global warming refers to the increase in the average temperature of the Earths atmosphere. Climate Change refers to the changes in climate that might accompany the warming of the atmosphere, such as changes in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather and sea level rise. Many people use these expressions interchangeably. However, the word warming may be misleading, as it doesnt embrace the full range of impacts of Climate Change.
What affects Climate Change?
Both natural and human factors affect our global climate. Natural causes include interactions between the ocean and the atmosphere, changes in the Earth's orbit and volcanic eruptions. Human activity influences the global climate by releasing greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane, into the atmosphere. These gases absorb energy that is radiated from the Earths surface, thus warming the atmosphere and increasing temperatures globally.
In 2007, the Inter Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the worlds most authoritative body on Climate Change, concluded that most of the observed increase in global average temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic (man-made) greenhouse gas concentrations.
The Greenhouse Effect
The Earth is kept warm by the greenhouse effect. Certain gases in the atmosphere (so-called greenhouse gases) absorb energy that is radiated from the Earths surface, and thus warm the atmosphere. The greenhouse effect is a natural phenomenon without which life on Earth, as we know it would not be possible, as the Earth would be 30C cooler. However, our modern lifestyles have resulted in the release of large amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, thus enhancing the greenhouse effect and so pushing up temperatures globally.
At present, about 6.5 billion tonnes of CO2 is emitted globally each year, mostly through burning coal, oil and gas for energy. Changes in land use, such as deforestation, also contribute significantly to carbon emissions.
How is the Climate Changing?
At a Global Level
Average surface air temperature is the most useful way to describe the state of global climate. Expressed as a global average, temperatures have increased by about 0.74C over the past 100 years (1906 to 2005), with about 0.4C of this warming occurring since the 1970s. The ten warmest years on record have all occurred since 1990, with 1998 as the warmest, and it is likely that the last 100 years was the warmest century in the last millennium.
At a UK Level
Average temperatures have increased by 0.7C in the UK since 1659. Of that, a rise of around 0.5C occurred in the 20th century. Summers have become hotter and drier, and winters are milder and wetter. After adjusting for natural land movements, the average sea level around the UK is now about 10cm higher than it was in 1900. Further sea level rises around the UK would increase the risk of flooding and coastal erosion.
What is likely to happen as a result of Climate Change in the future?
Most climate scientists agree that the world is going to get warmer. In 2007, the IPCC concluded that the likely range of global average warming by the end of this century is between 1.1 and 6.4C, relative to 1980-1999.
The type, frequency and intensity of extreme events such as heatwaves, droughts and floods are expected to change as the Earths climate changes. In a warmer future climate, there will be an increased risk of more intense, more frequent and longer-lasting heatwaves, such as the European heatwave of 2003 (which resulted in 30,000 deaths). Most global climate models project that a warming of future climate results in increased summer dryness and winter wetness for many places in northern middle and high latitudes (like the UK), indicating a higher risk of winter flooding and summer droughts.
The UK will be warmer and this will certainly bring some potential opportunities. However, we are also likely to experience more extreme weather and we need to start planning now to deal with the consequences, such as additional flooding, drought and sea level rise. There are also likely to be serious implications for other parts of the world, and effects on, for example on the global trade network, that will have an impact on the UK.
What can we do about Climate Change?
Experiments using global climate models show that when we reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, we reduce the rate of rise of average global temperatures and so lessen the rate and impacts of Climate Change. We can therefore slow the rate of warming by changing our behaviour.
Further warming is already inevitable due to the time-lag in the climate system, but action we take to reduce emissions now will limit warming in the latter half of this century. This will help to avoid dangerous, runaway Climate Change. To deal with the warming that is already locked in we will need to adapt our societies and infrastructure to deal with Climate Change impacts.
CO2 from burning fossil fuels for energy is the main source of man-made greenhouse gases. Therefore action to reduce emissions is necessarily centred on the more sustainable use of energy.
Other greenhouse gas emissions sources besides burning fossil fuels include methane from waste decomposing in landfills, methane and nitrous oxide from agriculture, CO2 and methane from land use change, chloro-fluoro carbons (CFCs) from refrigeration and halon gases from fire suppression systems and manufacturing processes. Avoidance, minimisation, and switching to less damaging alternatives is also required for these emissions.
Chapter Two Why does Climate Change Matter to St. Helens?
The previous chapter has highlighted why Climate Change presents such a challenge, not only for the UK, but worldwide. St. Helens has a part to play in addressing this challenge and helping to ensure a sustainable future for our community. This chapter outlines the global and national policy context that supports actions being taken to address Climate Change, and considers it at a local level and the commitments for St. Helens.
Global
The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) sets an overall framework for inter
