West Devon Climate Change and Biodiversity Newsletter

Climate Change and Biodiversity Emergency

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January 2022

Reducing our Carbon Footprint and increasing Biodiversity

Happy New Year and thank you for subscribing to this newsletter.

This is a place for us to update you on what we are doing at West Devon Borough Council, what things are going on around the Borough, what's going on nationally and things, you, our residents and businesses, can be doing to reduce your carbon footprint and manage your land to improve the environment and its biodiversity.

If you have anything you would like to include in this newsletter then contact our Climate Change Specialist by email here and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.


Council Updates


WD Theme Environment

Town and Parish Council Guide to Net-Zero

Some Parish and Town Councils have reached out to us over the past year looking for advice on tackling the Climate Emergency. Over the past few months we have been working with our Community Forum on pulling together some resources and tips on what Town and Parish Councils can do. 

The guide isn't intended to be prescriptive but rather offer to some help or inspiration to Town and Parish Councils looking tackle to the Climate Emergency. The guide is web based and intended for all audiences, whether you have yet to declare a Climate Emergency or are simply looking for action ideas or tools and resources to help you along the way. If you have any suggestions of your own then do get in touch and we can review the guide.

The guide is now live and can be found here.


Heat Pump Ready Programme


Application deadline:

Stream 1: 22 February 2022. Stream 2: 15 February 2022

Fund Description

This programme supports the development and demonstration of heat pump technologies and tools, and solutions for optimised deployment of heat pumps.

The Heat Pump Ready Programme provides funding for pioneering heat pump technologies that are smaller, cheaper and more efficient.

The programme is split into 3 separate delivery streams:

  • Stream 1: solutions for high-density heat pump deployment. A pre-commercial procurement process for contracts up to £9m from Spring 2022.
  • Stream 2: developing tools and technology. Grants up to £2m for applied research projects to overcome barriers to heat pump deployment, beginning Spring 2022.
  • Stream 3: trial support and learning. A contract to provide support, evaluation, knowledge sharing and dissemination services across the Heat Pump Ready Programme.

Applications are now invited for Strands 1 and 2:

Strand 1: Solutions for High-Density Heat Pump Deployment Competition. Businesses and other organisations that can provide innovative solutions for deploying domestic heat pumps at high density in the UK can apply for funding.

Stream 2: Developing Tools and Technology. This stream supports the development of tools, technology and processes to overcome specific barriers to domestic heat pump deployment.

Grants are available through Stream 2 for solutions that:

  • reduce the lifetime cost and increase the performance of domestic heat pumps
  • minimise home disruption while providing high-quality installations
  • develop and trial financial models to support heat pump deployment
  • improve the heat pump consumer journey
  • provide a smart and flexible home energy system

Further information:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/heat-pump-ready-programme


Funding for tree planting in Devon


tree planting

As of publishing this newsletter, there are over 20 different sources of funding for tree planting in Devon. The Devon Local Nature Partnership manage a list of funding sources which is available here;

https://www.devonlnp.org.uk/our-work/trees-for-devon/sources-of-funding-for-tree-planting-in-devon/ 


Webinars and Events


bioregional

Webinar: Sustainable living – learn from the world’s leading One Planet Living® communities - 8 February 2022,

8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.

This webinar will showcase the visionary One Planet Living® Leaders who are using Bioregional’s One Planet Living framework to create some of the world’s most sustainable communities.

Featuring inspiring case studies from One Planet Living leaders, attendees will learn:

  • How One Planet Living Leaders around the world are creating exemplar communities that embed regenerative sustainability in people’s daily lives,
  • How any organisation – including businesses, schools, property developers, and municipalities – can use One Planet Living, and achieve recognition as a One Planet Living Leader.

Register for free by clicking here


impact

Impact Tool: How to use your community's carbon footprint - 26 January 2022

7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

In partnership with the Centre for Sustainable Energy, Exeter University and the Green Futures Network are running a free event where they will share the new developments to the Impact Community Carbon Calculator tool. The tool is a free resource designed for communities and local councils to get usable data on their carbon emissions that is easy to interpret and easy to share.

They will focus on how to use the data from the tool, examples of how it has been used so far, and hear from the National Lottery Climate Action Fund talk about a funder’s perspective on how this information can be used to attract support.

The event is online and free for all, please sign up here if you are interested and share with your networks.


Doing your bit


food waste

Reducing Food Waste

There is a food-sharing apps called Olio which can be a great way to reduce your food waste, as you can give away unwanted food to people in your local community.

Visit Olio by clicking here.


New Research and Publications


Charting the UK's changing climate

met office

On 15 December 2021, the Met Office published an analysis revealing the different experiences of a changing climate across different regions across the UK, with some regions experiencing more rapid change than others.

Overall, comparing two 30 year periods (1961 - 1990 and 1991 - 2020) the average UK temperature has increased by 0.8°C, rainfall by 7.3%, and sunshine by 5.6%. The temperature rise has been greatest across central and eastern England by as much as 1°C. The largest increases in rainfall has been seen across much of Scotland and here in the South West, by as much as 10%.

To read the article in full, click here.