West Devon Borough Council Climate Change and Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan scored well by Climate Emergency UK

Climate Emergency UK, who carried an assessment of every climate action in the UK, examined 28 comprehensive area's of each Council's Climate Action Plan. They also investigated whether plans went beyond cutting just a Council’s own carbon footprint, but also included reducing that of the whole area through partnership working with communities.

Our Action Plan scored 72% compared to the average UK district council score of only 43%, falling 7th in the overall ranking.

The Council’s Climate Change and Biodiversity Strategy only covers one aspect of climate action within the Borough. As proud partners of the Devon Climate Emergency, we are working with partners across Devon (including Devon County Council) to create a carbon plan for the county that they will have a role in delivering.

Some of the background work completed by the partnership provided much needed evidence and data for the Borough Council’s own plan. West Devon Borough Councils Climate Change and Biodiversity Strategy will be reviewed once the Devon Carbon Plan is finalised to ensure all actions are consistent and aligned.

You can find out more at the Climate Emergency UK’s Scorecard website here:

https://councilclimatescorecards.uk

Next month, Devon Climate Emergency will be running a public consultation on the actions developed following our Citizens' Assembly in summer last year.

Assembly members were asked to consider onshore wind, building retrofit and transport. They came up with fourteen resolutions, with conditions. The Devon Climate Emergency Partnership, which includes us, have been working hard to transform these resolutions into actions to include in the Devon Carbon Plan.

We want to know if you think we have responded reasonably and effectively to the Devon Climate Assembly. 

This consultation will help to make sure that the actions are fair, democratic and help us achieve net-zero.  If you wish to have your say in the consultation, you can do that either online here or at your local public library.

To keep up to date with the latest news on how to take part, take a look at our website, and follow @devonclimateemergency on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Breaking the Ice: Exeter Science Centre Pop Up – Exeter Science Centre 11 - 14 March and 18 - 21 March 

For two long weekends in British Science Week (March) 2022, we’ll be showcasing an amazing exhibition in Maketank in Exeter, for people of all ages to meet the local scientists involved in some inspiring research, and get involved with our plans to make a STEAMM discovery centre in the city.

The exhibition is centred around climate modelling– which not only helps us to understand our own climate and how it is changing, but also the climates on other planets!

We’re also working with Space Youth Services to create a ‘Youth Voices on Climate’ window display, and climate scientists in Exeter to understand their perspectives on climate change.

You can find out more by clicking here.

NFU Online Webinar: 'Delivering Net-Zero Together' 17 February, 11 a.m. - 12:00

This is an NFU-led webinar for public sector caterers to learn how work that British farmers are doing can help the public sector to deliver climate friendly supply chains and help towards net zero commitments. 

Find out how British farmers and public sector caterers can work together for a sustainable future.

To find out more and to register, click here.

Calling all Citizen Scientists! - Weather Rescue at Sea

Researchers are looking for anyone to help transcribe ship weather logbooks written in the mid-19th Century to help better our understanding of changing climates.

If you're interested in helping out then you can find out more by clicking here

Small gardens are as important as big gardens for conserving bees and other pollinators in UK urban environments, according to a new research article published in the Journal of Applied Ecology

Surveys were carried out in 59 residential gardens in Bristol at monthly intervals, reaching a total of 472 individual surveys.

The research found that:

• Individual gardens have differing levels of nectar, and although production is higher in more affluent neighbourhoods, this wasn't always in the larger gardens.
• Nectar supply is dominated by non-native species, while shrubs are the main source contributing to the supply.
• Pollinator friendly management is more important that the size of the garden.
• its recommended that planting nectar-rich shrubs with complementary flowering periods and prioritising flowers with an open structure in late summer and autumn occurs.

This research underpins just how important gardens can be for pollinator conservation where the combined action of many individuals can have a major impact on foraging resources at a landscape scale. 

The full research article can be found here https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2664.14094 

The rate carbon-dioxide is being added to the atmosphere needs to slow by around 20% over the next five-year period if global warming is to be limited to 1.5°C, says the Met Office in its annual CO2 forecast.

The Met Office forecast suggests that relative to 2021, the rise in the atmospheric concentration of CO₂ in 2022 will be 2.14 ± 0.52 ppm

However, the Met Office state that the long-term rise in CO₂ concentrations comes from human-induced activities, nature also has an influence in the rate of rise because of variations in the strength of so-called natural carbon sinks – features like vegetation and the oceans. These variations are driven by climate variability and show a strong correlation with the El Niño – La Niña cycles in the tropical Pacific.

You can read more by clicking here.