environment

COP26: How might decisions at the climate summit change our lives?

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You should follow the hyperlink for this story. It sketches out in detail how our lives are likely to change as a consequence of the COP agreements made this week. A number of the impacts will need a radical rethink about how we live in rural England, particularly in relation to car use, farming, tourism and health. This article begins with the following intro…

A deal has been agreed and signed at the climate summit in Glasgow, you might be left wondering what – if anything – it will mean for you. Here are some ways in which the decisions made at COP26 could change your life.

Climate change: Lord Deben says street lights not needed in rural areas

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I have found the issue of dark skies in rural settings surprisingly, perhaps even un-nervably controversial. This story tells us:

Street lights should not be installed in rural areas where people could use a torch instead, an influential climate adviser said.

Lord Deben chairs the Climate Change Committee, which advises the government on emissions targets.

He also said councils should not allow housing developments where residents would commute by car.

Lord Deben said local authorities “must be looking at everything they do” to tackle climate change.

Giving evidence to Parliament’s Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, Lord Deben said: “The pressures to urbanise the countryside are largely antagonistic to dealing with climate change.”

He said street lighting in rural areas was unnecessary, adding: “When people move into the countryside you just have to say to them, ‘this is not the town, we do not have street lighting in this village, you have a torch, that’s just how we do it’.”

But Lord Deben, who was environment minister under John Major and Suffolk Coastal MP until 2010, said street lighting was important in towns where it can make people feel safer and more likely to walk.

Reintroducing wolves to UK could hit rewilding support, expert says

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This story shows just how “wild” the whole re-wilding agenda is getting. I’ve been collecting stories in And Finally for a decade about weird charismatic mega fauna but this whole agenda is starting to get a bit out of control now. Anyone for releasing alligators into the Chesterfield Canal…?????

Demands to reintroduce predators such as wolves and bears could significantly damage public support for rewilding the British countryside, a senior conservationist has said.

Francesca Osowska, chief executive of NatureScot, a government conservation agency, said rewilding could only succeed if it won support from people living in and managing the countryside, including farmers and Highland estate managers who are worried about losing their livelihoods.

She said focusing on totemic predators such as wolves risked alienating the people living in rural areas whose involvement is essential if the large-scale restoration programmes needed to address the climate and nature emergencies were to succeed.

Osowska said: “We need to think about rewilding as a much broader concept. We need to think about restoring all of nature, not just large mammals. And that goes from the pine hoverfly to ensuring that we’ve the right mix of forestry – different land types to have that mosaic of habitats.

“The vision I want is of a nature-rich future. Nature-rich means we’re all touched by and living in harmony with nature and able to benefit from it.”

Hartlepool sun city: Trio of massive solar projects set to turn northeast town into clean energy powerhouse

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To me this is a lovely story based on the contribution of a rural hinterland to the sustainability of a big town. It tells us:

Now, however, Hartlepool is hoping its future can be transformed by sunshine.

Three massive solar farms are to be built within a five-mile radius of each other on the outskirts of this Teesside port – effectively turning it into the UK’s most unlikely solar powerhouse.

Individually, it is thought all three sites – dotted on farmland along the A19 – would be among the top 10 biggest such energy farms in the country if they were opened today.

But combined they will cover an area roughly the size of 250 football fields and create enough energy to power more than 43,000 local homes. They will produce almost 150MW of energy every year.

Rewilding 5% of England could create 20,000 rural jobs

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Fascinating article – this piece tells us:

Rewilding 5% of England could create nearly 20,000 jobs in rural communities and increase employment by 50% compared with intensive farming, figures show.

Hybrid roles in animal husbandry and ecology, positions in nature tourism and specialist roles in species reintroductions could be among the new positions, according to analysis from Rewilding Britain, alongside benefits for biodiversity and the climate.

The drive to restore nature on a large scale in the UK’s landscapes has sparked fears of job losses in the agriculture community owing to perceived links to abandoning farmland and halting food production.

But Prof Alastair Driver, the director of Rewilding Britain who put together the figures, said the analysis showed rewilding on marginal land could increase employment without stopping traditional agricultural activities.

“You’re looking at approximately a 50% increase in jobs compared with traditional intensive farming,” Driver said, cautioning that while the figures were positive, there would not be a rewilding industrial revolution.

Food strategy for England calls for big cut in meat consumption

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The second of our features on the National Food strategy delves more deeply into the work, with some really interesting statistics which tell us some interesting things about the relationship between land use and calories.

The new food strategy for England, commissioned by the government, lays out in stark detail the damage the current food and farming system wreaks on the environment, as well as our health. It is the biggest destroyer of nature and a major source of climate warming, it says.

The report takes aim at overconsumption of meat. “Our current appetite for meat is unsustainable,” it says. “85% of farmland is used to feed livestock [and] we need some of that land back.”

That 85% of land provides only 32% of the calories we eat, it says: “By contrast, the 15% of farmland that is used to grow plant crops for human consumption provides 68% of our calories.” The report also tackles the myth that grass-fed livestock are greener, saying: “The more intensively you rear some animals, the more carbon-efficient they tend to be.”

Climate change: Local leaders in England demand more power

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From a local government perspective, one thing the pandemic has revealed is that local action often trumps centralised planning. This story builds on that theme in the context of climate change, with the usual urban sway of many articles, but containing an important grain of rural truth, it tells us:

The UK will struggle to reach its climate change targets unless more power and money is put into local hands, say a group of metro mayors and council leaders. 

The influential figures have written to the PM calling for “further and faster” action to protect the environment. They say the pandemic has shown that local leaders can get things done.

The government said councils and mayors had “a pivotal role” in reducing carbon emissions.

Labour’s Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Steve Rotherham, the Metro Mayor of Liverpool and the Conservative leaders in Hampshire and Leicestershire are among the signatories.

They say without a locally-led approach, the UK will struggle to reach its world-leading climate change targets. 

Ministers have committed to cutting carbon emissions by 78% by 2035 compared to 1990 levels, and to become carbon neutral – or net zero – by 2050. 

That will involve things like switching homes and businesses to sustainable energy sources, more use of public transport, encouraging the use of electric cars and better insulating homes.

Fed-up farmers reveal extent of fly-tipping in countryside

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This article features an increasing scourge which is a real threat to rural local authorities and farmers. It tells us:

Farmers have shared pictures and videos of fly-tipping as part of renewed efforts to illustrate the extent of the problem in the countryside and force tougher sanctions for offenders.

A tweet from the NFU asking for evidence of waste dumped illegally has prompted replies from dozens of fed-up farmers.

A deluge of pictures showed building material blocking country lanes, black bin bags discarded in hedgerows, and even a small boat on a trailer, left on the side of the road.

The NFU said: “The quicker we tackle this continual blight on our countryside, the quicker farmers can concentrate on what they do best – caring for the environment and producing the nation’s food.”

NFU deputy president Stuart Roberts said: “Every day, I hear how farmers’ fields are being bombarded with rubbish being illegally dumped.

“It’s extremely costly and time-consuming to remove, is dangerous to human health and harmful to wildlife and livestock.

 “The NFU’s new Levelling up rural Britain report highlights how farms and rural communities have increasingly become the target of criminal gangs, with those areas continuing to receive lower levels of police funding, per head of population, than urban areas.”

Green Brexit didn’t happen, says environmental coalition

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Another Brexit disappointment. This story tells us:

The so-called “green Brexit” promised by the government has not been delivered, a coalition of environment groups says.

In 2017, the Environment Secretary Michael Gove promised: “Leaving the EU gives a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reform agriculture and fisheries.”

That, he said, would allow the UK to reshape the way it cares for its land, its rivers and its seas.

“In short,” Mr Gove pledged, “it means a Green Brexit.”

Over four years and 11 reports, an environmental coalition called Greener UK has tracked policies – and concluded that improvement across the board has not been realised.

Environment Secretary George Eustice said Brexit enabled the UK to create “world-leading legislation, delivering better environmental outcomes in an effective and efficient way”.

Level up rural Britain to turbocharge Britain’s green economy

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Lots to read of interest for rural communities in this report. I advise you check it out.

An ambitious and revolutionary approach to levelling up rural Britain can create jobs, boost green economic growth, increase exports and improve the wellbeing of the entire nation, a new report from the NFU highlights.

Launched at the NFU’s annual conference today, the report “Levelling up rural Britain” highlights how British farming and rural Britain can provide the solution to many of the challenges the nation faces by driving sustainable food production and pioneering food policy that produces carbon neutral food.

It also showcases how rural Britain is uniquely placed to help the recovery of the nation from COVID-19; delivering physical and mental health through the farmed landscape, which has been a lifeline for so many during lockdown, and supporting the return to whole-food cooking with nutritious, sustainable and affordable British food.

The report says that no one should be disadvantaged by where they live or where their business is based. It highlights several areas where the rural and urban divide continues to grow including:

Broadband and connectivity – poor access to reliable mobile coverage and adequate broadband continues to put rural areas at a disadvantage1, acting as a constraint to capital investment.

Rural crime – farms and rural communities have increasingly become the target of criminals in recent years, with rural crime costing the UK £54.3 million in 20192. Rural areas continue to receive lower levels of police funding, per head of population, than urban areas3.

Planning – The planning system too often prevents farm modernisation, diversification and home building for farm workers. The government’s planning White Paper offers an opportunity to reform and ensure renewal and growth can be sustained in rural areas.

Investment – UK Government should be encouraging more investment, including British investment, into the success story that is British food.

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