Reading’s first Adaptation Plan

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I am delighted to share this first Adaptation Plan for Reading (please click on the following buttons to open the PDF documents, which you can view, download or print from).

Some of these adaptation ideas have already been picked up in the development of our New Strategy. We will learn more though over the next few years, as we get better prepared for the future.

 

 

 

 


October’s pre-launch event

For more information please see the following summary of the Town Hall event from October 2019.

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Sand bags and flood water

The Reading Climate Change Partnership has commissioned a first Adaptation Plan for Reading. This will help us to understand some of the climate-related risks that we face in our town. It will also give us some guidance about how we should respond to prepare for these changes.

Public Event

On the 22 October 2019 we held an event at the Town Hall, to give  an introduction to the plan. This was followed by a good opportunity for public questions and answers.

As Chair of the RCCP, I gave a introduction, highlighting the need to think about climate change adaptation, and why we commissioned this report.

  • I talked about what is behind the Zero Carbon Reading 2030 target and how this fits with global carbon zero targets.
  • We face a profound choice: if we can move away from coal, oil and gas, within the next decade, we have a good chance of limiting climate change to 2 degrees C. If we don’t, we face the risk of more extreme weather events.
  • There is a growing public pressure for us to meet our low carbon targets but I finished by noting how the political and media focus is very much elsewhere.
  • Hence we need to think about adaptation, and get ourselves ready for a hotter and stormier future.

Please note that some images may be subject to copyright. Credit: Chris Beales, October 2019

 

Jason Lowe (Met Office [based at Reading University]) then talked about the impacts of climate change for the UK and Reading specifically.

  • Jason started by noting some of the consequence of recent extreme weather events in the UK, including: the increase in hospital admissions resulting from the recent heat waves; and the damages associated with flooding.
  • He showed some of the visible changes we have seen in Reading’s temperature and rainfall records.
  • He then moved on to talk about the recent UK Climate Projections 2018 (UKCP18), which highlight a number of risks for the town including: hotter extreme temperatures; more rainfall in the winter season; potential for flash flooding.

Please note that this presentation may be subject to copyright. Credit: Jason Lowe October 2019

 

Lisa Horrocks (Mott MacDonald) has been developing the Adaptation Plan. She talked about what is in there  and some of the key lessons for us. The plan is divided into the following sections:

  • Impacts by Sector – matching the 6 themes in our new Strategy, with the key risks and opportunities.
  • Impacts by Place – focusing on 3 parts of the town: the town center, the riverside, and our residential (terrace) streets.
  • A number of Case Studies – which look at the adaption thinking from: The Oracle, Berkshire NHS Trust and the University.
  • And finally some advice for us on how to take adaptation planning forward: what to do right now; through to who should own this; and the next steps.

Please note that this presentation may be subject to copyright. Credit: Lisa Horrocks, October 2019

 

Finally I returned to give a short presentation on what is next:

  • The following slide summarises my expectations from this first plan. It is important to note that it is a light touch first plan for the town. The emphasis is very much on learning about adaptation so we can get everybody on board.
  • There are a lot of things that we need to pick up on from this first plan.
  • We will need to start thinking about more detailed Adaptation Planning over the next couple of years.Whether this is to develop a single second plan or more targeted, sector-based plans. We will need to invest more money to make this happen. Hopefully we can build on some of the adaptive planning that has been pioneered by projects like Thames Estuary 2100.
Slide
Summary of key aims

Publishing the Plan

We will publish the plan on the ReadingCAN website after the  general election. We need to wait until then due to government pre-election restrictions which affect some partners (notably the Chair of RCCP).

 

Chris Beales
November 2019

Reading Hydro Share Offer is now OPEN

Exciting News: the Reading Hydro scheme has all of its necessary permits and will be built and commissioned in 2020 at a cost of £700,000.

You can be a part of this by investing as little as £75

If you think you might like to invest in this renewable energy project for the town. then please go to the Reading hydro website and read ALL about it before making your decision: the plans, the risks, the potential investment return and the community benefits

For more information about the scheme and to access the share offer document go to https://hydro.readinguk.org

Christmas 2019 message from the Chair

Dear All,

The close of 2019 is rapidly approaching. It has been a huge year for us, as now a growing Reading Climate Action Network. A lot of good things have happened:

  • We declared a Climate Emergency in February, which has been a powerful inspiration;
  • Our board has strengthened, and capacity is building in some of our partners, for example the Council’s appointment of Peter Moore into a new post, as Climate Change Manger for RBC;
  • New sub-networks are building, including the Reading Business CAN;
  • There have been a lots of climate change related events, directly or indirectly connected with us, from Theme workshops to the inspiring Climate Strike and the Strategy launch;
  • The first Reading Adaptation Plan is finished, and will be uploaded here soon;
  • And, of course big job of writing the new Strategy has dominated the second half of the year, with a growing number of us shaping Reading’s direction for the next 5 years.

There have been challenges as well. Personally, it has been heavy going, trying to balance the chairship with the day job, fatherhood / family life and being a musician. Thank you for being patient if I have been slow to respond. I know I am not alone here, and I am hugely grateful to all of you who have put your time, knowledge and passion into ReadingCAN. We do rely on good will and volunteering. I know this has limits but I hope the seeds we sow here will help us grow and will help us build the case for more support (people and money).

Speaking about challenges, there has of course been a General Election. As I work in the public sector, I had to observe 5 weeks of pre-election silence. This was important but the timing was not great for the Strategy work. And the final result did not go the way I hoped it might. I noted the other party manifestos did offer more optimistic lines on climate change, which could have given us a real lift. However, there was no escape from the vortex of Brexit in this election.

The climate is still changing though, and this makes what we are doing even more important! We need to be there for our colleagues, families and friends in Reading. We need to show leadership; we need to support each-other; and we need to grow, learn and inspire over the next 5 years. We can make a real difference in bringing our carbon footprint down, and preparing the town for more extreme weather…the consequences of climate change. And we are not the only town doing this – the majority of Local Authorities have now declared Climate Emergencies so there is a wider network we can reach out to.

Where there is a will there is a way!

I wish you all Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

 

Chris Beales
ReadingCAN / RCCP Chair

Reading’s first Climate Change Adaptation Plan event (22 Oct)

photo
photo
Sand bags and flood water

The Reading Climate Change Partnership has commissioned a first Adaptation Plan for Reading. This will help us to understand some of the climate-related risks that we face in our town. It will also give us some guidance about how we should respond to prepare for these changes.

Public Event

On the 22 October 2019 we held an event at the Town Hall, to give  an introduction to the plan. This was followed by a good opportunity for public questions and answers.

As Chair of the RCCP, I gave a introduction, highlighting the need to think about climate change adaptation, and why we commissioned this report.

  • I talked about what is behind the Zero Carbon Reading 2030 target and how this fits with global carbon zero targets.
  • We face a profound choice: if we can move away from coal, oil and gas, within the next decade, we have a good chance of limiting climate change to 2 degrees C. If we don’t, we face the risk of more extreme weather events.
  • There is a growing public pressure for us to meet our low carbon targets but I finished by noting how the political and media focus is very much elsewhere.
  • Hence we need to think about adaptation, and get ourselves ready for a hotter and stormier future.

Please note that some images may be subject to copyright. Credit: Chris Beales, October 2019

 

Jason Lowe (Met Office [based at Reading University]) then talked about the impacts of climate change for the UK and Reading specifically.

  • Jason started by noting some of the consequence of recent extreme weather events in the UK, including: the increase in hospital admissions resulting from the recent heat waves; and the damages associated with flooding.
  • He showed some of the visible changes we have seen in Reading’s temperature and rainfall records.
  • He then moved on to talk about the recent UK Climate Projections 2018 (UKCP18), which highlight a number of risks for the town including: hotter extreme temperatures; more rainfall in the winter season; potential for flash flooding.

Please note that this presentation may be subject to copyright. Credit: Jason Lowe October 2019

 

Lisa Horrocks (Mott MacDonald) has been developing the Adaptation Plan. She talked about what is in there  and some of the key lessons for us. The plan is divided into the following sections:

  • Impacts by Sector – matching the 6 themes in our new Strategy, with the key risks and opportunities.
  • Impacts by Place – focusing on 3 parts of the town: the town center, the riverside, and our residential (terrace) streets.
  • A number of Case Studies – which look at the adaption thinking from: The Oracle, Berkshire NHS Trust and the University.
  • And finally some advice for us on how to take adaptation planning forward: what to do right now; through to who should own this; and the next steps.

Please note that this presentation may be subject to copyright. Credit: Lisa Horrocks, October 2019

 

Finally I returned to give a short presentation on what is next:

  • The following slide summarises my expectations from this first plan. It is important to note that it is a light touch first plan for the town. The emphasis is very much on learning about adaptation so we can get everybody on board.
  • There are a lot of things that we need to pick up on from this first plan.
  • We will need to start thinking about more detailed Adaptation Planning over the next couple of years.Whether this is to develop a single second plan or more targeted, sector-based plans. We will need to invest more money to make this happen. Hopefully we can build on some of the adaptive planning that has been pioneered by projects like Thames Estuary 2100.
Slide
Summary of key aims

Publishing the Plan

We will publish the plan on the ReadingCAN website after the  general election. We need to wait until then due to government pre-election restrictions which affect some partners (notably the Chair of RCCP).

 

Chris Beales
November 2019

Reading Business CAN

Over 50 organisations gathered on 2nd October 2019 to contribute to the development of the Reading Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan 2020-25 and to launch the Reading Business Climate Action Network which will provide information, support and resources to help businesses respond appropriately to the challenges posted by climate change.

If you work for a business in or around Reading and would like to become part of the Reading Business Climate Action Network please join our Linked In Group.

You can find a copy of the slides from the event below.

Reading Climate Strike – Sept 2019

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Well I needed a bit of a pick-me-up – joining the Reading Schools Climate Strike today certainly gave me that!

There was a big crowd outside the council offices that just kept growing. And listening to the chants of the schools children really did catch the heart strings. It made me very proud to be part of this town!

I was very pleased to have a chance to say a couple of words (see news update from 14:28)…

Unfortunately the sound dies halfway through the clip (from the GetReading website here). What I was saying though is that right now we are working on the new Climate Change Strategy for Reading. There is a lot to do, and we need your help.

  • If you have expertise please join us and help make sure we get the strategy right. And help us to get the message out…an social media experts out there, please get in touch!
  • Everybody though…we need your help to make this happen! Please be part of our developing Climate Action Network “ReadingCAN”. Encourage schoolmates, workmates, friends and family to join us too. And do check our new ReadingCAN.org.uk website. We are going to use it to host the strategy, climate events and everything we learn about how we can cut our carbon emissions and get ready for the climate challenges that the town faces.

Thank you to all of the organisers of today’s Strike. And especially to all of you who stood up to make sure there is a good future for our children, and their children to follow.

Take care all. With solidarity and respect,

Chris Beales
RCCP Chair

What’s the problem with palm oil?

One of the most ubiquitous materials in the World, palm oil is used in around half of all toiletries, cosmetics and food products. It has been implicated in habitat destruction, displacement of indigenous people and soil erosion. But is it really the villain it is made out to be?

In fact, the oil palm is a highly efficient crop that is significantly more productive than any of its alternatives. So in theory this means that cultivating an alternative crop could use more land and further exacerbate the environmental damage that’s caused currently. The crux of the problem is that industry’s insatiable appetite for palm oil means that land continues to be cleared for its production at an alarming rate, destroying irreplaceable tropical rain forest and peatlands that we rely on to store CO2 and produce oxygen as well as being home to humans, animals and plants. In addition, burning the forest and peatlands causes dangerous air pollution and there is evidence of significant human rights abuse to displaced people and workers. The lack of governance regarding land clearance for palm oil means that it’s too easy to clear more and more land for its production, rather than ensuring that the land employed for its production is used more efficiently.

We’re part of the problem too. Palm oil is used extensively in convenience foods, because it is odourless and colourless, stable at high temperatures and resistant to oxidation. One of the most effective ways to reduce demand for palm oil is to cook from scratch rather than buying pre-prepared foods – easy to say, but not everybody has the time or cash to do this. Avoiding food waste can help, too, and brings other environmental benefits as well as saving cash. As for toiletries and cosmetics, making our own isn’t an option for most people so curbing demand is primarily a question of avoiding waste.

So, should we boycott palm oil? That’s a matter of personal choice, of course, and some would argue that displacing palm oil in favour of oils from less productive sources is counter-productive and risks eroding the GDP of developing countries. It also assumes that we can recognise the 20 or more terms that can be used to describe it on labels – a time-consuming task for any busy consumer. If we do choose to buy products containing palm oil, it certainly helps to choose those containing sustainable palm oil. The RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) is the most established certification programme and it strengthened its criteria in November 2018 making it more effective at avoiding human rights abuses and environmental degradation – look out for its “RSPO certified” and “Green Palm” labels.

As with so many environmental challenges, things are rarely black and white and there is always a risk that in solving one problem we will unwittingly create another. But arming ourselves with the facts means that at least we can choose to do the best thing based on the information we have. You can find more information on Palm Oil and the RSPO at WWF, Rainforest Rescue and RSPO.

Reading Transport Strategy Consultation

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We’re planning for the future of transport in Reading and we want to know what you think.

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Transport matters to all of us. It connects us with our workplaces, schools, friends and families. It affects our health, the air we breathe, and the streets where we live. It helps our economy to grow and our town to thrive, and it can make the environment around us clean and friendly or dirty and dangerous.

Future travel in Reading is about more than moving people from A to B. It must be affordable and accessible, improve people’s health and wellbeing, support a growing and inclusive economy, enable a carbon neutral future for Reading and harness the latest technology.

The strategy we develop now will shape our town’s transport network to 2036 and beyond, informing the decisions we take, the funding we secure and the changes we make.

Please click here for the survey which is open until 20th September.

Things you can do about climate change – Interview with Chris Beales (RCCP Chair)

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This is the third in the series of interviews with Ayo Sokale, in which Ayo asks me ‘…what things you can do about climate change’.  I hope you find this useful.

  • This ReadingCAN.org.uk website will be building up a lot of information over the coming years, which will help us all to become better informed.
  • The other website mentioned, is the one I put together a few years ago. The Personal Action page is here: www.chrisbeales.net – personal action

Coping with hot weather

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Heatwaves happen and they can be particularly dangerous for more vulnerable members of our community. With climate change we expect heatwaves to become increasingly likely so we need to be ready for them.

Tips for coping in hot weather

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This advice is from the NHS website: heatwave how to cope in hot weather.

  • Shut windows and pull down the shades when it is hotter outside. You can open the windows for ventilation when it is cooler. 
  • Avoid the heat: stay out of the sun and don’t go out between 11am and 3pm (the hottest part of the day) if you’re vulnerable to the effects of heat. 
  • Keep rooms cool by using shades or reflective material outside the windows. If this isn’t possible, use light-coloured curtains and keep them closed (metallic blinds and dark curtains can make the room hotter). 
  • Have cool baths or showers, and splash yourself with cool water. 
  • Drink plenty of fluids and avoid excess alcohol – water, lower-fat milks and tea and coffee are good options. You can also drink fruit juice, smoothies and soft drinks, but they can be high in sugar. Limit fruit juice or smoothies to a combined total of 150ml a day, and choose diet or sugar-free soft drinks.
  • Listen to alerts on the radio, TV and social media about keeping cool.  
  • Plan ahead to make sure you have enough supplies, such as food, water and any medications you need. 
  • Identify the coolest room in the house so you know where to go to keep cool.
  • Wear loose, cool clothing, and a hat and sunglasses if you go outdoors. 
  • Check up on friends, relatives and neighbours who may be less able to look after themselves.

Further information