Solar Bear

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Solar Bear Other StoriesClimate Change From
The Inside
Pete Hill Chartered Environmental Health
Practitioner
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The Story So Far..
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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
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Climate Change Risks in The East

• The 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.

Feb 2008
Heat wave Summer 2003
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After The Polar Bears Whos Next?
Direct Heat Waves Floods and Storms risks from
contamination and stress Poor Air
quality Increase in Food Borne Illness Increased
Exposure to Ultra Violet Radiation
Indirect Vector Borne diseases eg Lymes
Disease, Dengue Fever, Malaria Climate
Migration Widening Health Inequalities
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A Starting Point November 2006

• 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.

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KLOE 3.1 Use of Natural Resources
The 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Withdrawn 2010
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Where To Get Involved!
Community Strategy
Welwyn Hatfield Alliance Hertfordshire Forward
Business Plan
Team Plans
Other regional plans and strategies
Appraisal Scheme
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The Boroughs 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
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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 in The Councils Climate Change
Strategy Action Plan
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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

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Corporate Climate Change Group
Executive Board
Director of Strategy Development
Representatives from all service areas.
Meetings every 6 weeks or more frequently if
required
Climate Change Group
Service Teams
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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 journeys Records are all paper
based CO2 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
years The move resulted in over 200 redundancies
and a cut in our NI186 figures!
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Climate Change Strategy Action Plan

• Energy Efficiency
• Water
• Biodiversity Open Spaces
• Planning
• Waste Recycling
• Procurement Contracted Out Services
• Transportation
• Staff Community Engagement
• Climate Change Health
• 10.Adaptation

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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.

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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!

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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
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Green Travel Planning
Travel Survey Mapping Responses Concentrate on
those within bandings Better Transport
Information Low Emission Driving Approach Cycle
To Work Scheme Car Share
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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?

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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

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Introducing Solar Bear
Councils 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_at_welhat.gov.uk Hoped to develop
character in future for education on Climate
Change issues. Negotiations to give Solar his
own Facebook Page.
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The Green Page
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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.

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The rest of this presentation consists of the
thoughts of an Environmental Health Practitioner
with 25 years experience not those of his
employer.
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Planning

• Inconsistency!
• Not In My Back Yard
• Lack of Teeth Code for Sustainable Homes?
• More work on Low Carbon Lifestyles

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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?
• Whos responsible, whos ear, how powerful?
• Office Recycling a real example!

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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
Ill tell you when I find out if Ive 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?
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Global Climate Change Risk Assessment
Yes! Taking Action
No! Inaction


Given our options the choices fall into two
simple categories
Cost Economic Hardships
No significant Loss
Option 1 GCC is False
Floods Famine Droughts Economic Hardships
Option 2 GCC is True
Better prepared
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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

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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 Hill Chartered Environmental Health
Practitioner Welwyn Hatfield Borough
Council 01707-357404 P.Hill_at_Welhat.gov.uk