Search Results for: adaptation

RAMSES the second (meeting) comes to London

June 2013:  On 24-25 June, LSE Cities hosts the second RAMSES project meeting in London, bringing together representatives from all project partners, providing an update of progress on this collaborative project.

RAMSES (Reconciling Adaptation, Mitigation and Sustainable Development for Cities) is a European research project which aims to deliver quantified evidence of the impacts of climate change and the costs and benefits of a wide range of adaptation measures, focusing on cities. LSE is a project partner within a consortium of thirteen public and private research institutions across eight European countries. The project started in October 2012 and will run until 2017.

RAMSES focuses on adaptation measures at the city-scale, as cities are major centres of population and economic activity and places where climate change impacts may be most acutely felt.

The project will use 8 case study cities to quantify the costs and benefits of adaptation measures. It aims to deliver tools to help city policymakers make decisions about prioritising a wide range of adaptation responses. The RAMSES webpage on London can be seen here.

Posted in News | Tagged | Leave a comment

London Energy & Climate Priorities for the year

June 2013:  The GLA’s Environment Programme budget for 2013-14 has recently been approved by the Mayor, setting out a total spend of £946,000 to support the delivery of the GLA’s environment policy and programmes. The approval form sets out in detail priorities being focussed on across the environment programme,  but listed below are those actions specifically related to energy and climate:

  • £100,000 to fund consultancy support for Energy Assessments: The London Plan sets out a requirement for developers to submit an energy assessment as part of their planning application.The Environment Team appraises at least 300 applications per year and requires part time expert consultancy support to assist on some highly technical issues. More on this  here.
  • £125,000  for the preparation of the London Energy & Greenhouse Gases Inventory (LEGGI) and London Atmospheric Emissions Inventory (LAEI) which provide baseline information on London energy use, greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions.
  • £30,000 for a CHP in social housing study. This research will help demonstrate the commercial viability of Combined Heat and Power schemes in social housing over the installation of individual boilers and support the application of the energy hierarchy in the London Plan.
  • Guidance for developers on revised Building Regulations. The review of Part L of Buildings Regulations will lead to revised standards for new buildings coming into effect in October 2013. This study will recalibrate the standards in the London Plan (Policy 5.2 – see page 141) and provide guidance to the London Plan team and developers.
  • £30,000 to London Climate Change Partnership (LCCP) to undertake 3 projects: a) working with commercial landlords to reduce climate risks to the premises and tenants, b) working with social housing landlords in 4 boroughs to reduce overheating risks, c) undertaking a scoping study to define and increase the ‘adaptation economy’.
  • £30,000 for Hydrogen London – The Hydrogen London 2013-2014 programme will deliver the Mayor’s vision of London as a global centre of hydrogen and fuel cell activity, services and early adopter of these technologies.
  • £10,000 to review London’s CO2 emissions from waste – including to monitoring CO2 emissions from municipal waste management and reviewing CO2 metrics for waste (for previous work on this issue by the GLA see the following links here and here)
  • £160,000 to retrofitting London –  £110k will support the development of interventions with London Councils and the boroughs to remove barriers to delivery of energy efficiency. These include guidance for conservation areas and areas with a high density of listed buildings; procurement and analysis of energy performance certificate (EPC) data to enable the targeted identification of properties, quantification of the impact of emerging energy legislation and build the investment case for increasing the ‘success rate’ for delivery of measures. £50k will support the development of delivery models to maximise engagement to increase uptake in the private rented and owner occupied sectors (70 per cent of London’s housing stock).
  • £66,000 to delivering decentralised energy – Funding the London Heat Map (£16k in 2013/14 and £9k per year thereafter) – which identifies opportunities for local energy supply projects. The costs involve the GLA maintaining the current site hosted by RADE includes cost of ArcGIS server licence (a one off fee), hosting and admin costs for the site. LWaRB have agreed to pay 50 per cent towards the licence and hosting services.
  • £30,000 for Energy master plans (EMPs) – these provide the strategic planning function that underpins the delivery of strategic DE projects. The EMP provides a high-level feasibility and viability assessment and puts forward a ‘preferred solution’ for the energy infrastructure of that area. Funding will support three EMPs . EMP costs around £50k to produce. GLA will make £~10k contributions, developers and boroughs will contribute the remaining required budget. Recent energy masterplans undertaken include major regeneration sites in Croydon, Vauxhall Nine Elms Battersea, White City and London Riverside.
  • £20,000 in 2013/14 and £50,000 in 2014/15 to Licence Lite – following our recent application to become a supplier we will need to work with Ofgem and the electricity supply market to develop business model and submit for Mayoral approval. We will work with market advisors on completing matrix of services needed and completion of formal legal agreements for services. (see here and here for further detail).
Posted in Decentralised Energy, Energy Efficiency, News | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Haringey issue new energy and carbon planning guidance

April 2013: Haringey fully adopted a new and very useful Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) on Sustainable Design and Construction last month. It’s stated that the “document will be considered in determining planning applications. It does not create new policy, but complements the Local Plan and brings together policy requirements and guidance from national, regional and local planning framework that promote sustainable buildings.” The SPD can be downloaded here.

Two sections are of particular interest.  Section 3: Energy & Carbon – and Section 4: Changing Climate – the latter focused on relevant adaptation issues. Section 3 mentions the following:

“The Upper Lee Valley is one of London’s most exciting areas of change and the opportunity for an alternative energy supply in the area is unique. The core idea of the strategic decentralised energy network here is to capture low-carbon heat from waste-to-energy facilities in the Edmonton area of the Lee Valley and supply the heat to existing businesses and residential customers as well as to new developments.”

The appendices document provides further information on energy requirements related to planning applications to the borough.

Posted in Decentralised Energy, News | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Disabled Facilities Grant to fund heating

April 2013: The Department for Communities and Local Government announced last week new funding to help councils fund the adaptations disabled people need to live independently in their own home. The press release states that “Ministers have protected the Disabled Facilities Grant programme for the last 3 years, with a further £185 million expected in next year’s funding.

Included in eligible types of work for funding are:

  • adapting heating or lighting controls to make them easier to use
  • improving or providing a suitable heating system

A document setting out the allocation awarded to each local authority is provided here. Looking at London councils , it can be seen a total of £23.5m has gone to the capital – a breakdown of each borough’s funding is provided below:

Continue reading…

Posted in News | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Mayor on climate science…and the responses

January 2013: The Mayor has used his latest Daily Telegraph column to consider our current winter weather period and pontificate what this means in terms of climate change saying ‘Something is up with our winter weather. Could it be the Sun is having a slow patch?’

For his column, the Mayor turns to the work of what appears to be his ‘theorist of choice’ Piers Corbyn (Boris has referenced his work twice before in July 2012 and December 2010) stating that “According to Piers, global temperature depends not on concentrations of CO2 but on the mood of our celestial orb.”

The Mayor then brings in his memories of childhood winters, moving on to referencing sun spots, both Shakespeare and JMW Turner, Aztec solar theories  and the effects of  something called the Maunder minimum.  After all of this, Boris then goes on to say: “Now I am not for a second saying that I am convinced Piers is right; and to all those scientists and environmentalists who will go wild with indignation on the publication of this article, I say, relax. I certainly support reducing CO2 by retrofitting homes and offices – not least since that reduces fuel bills. I want cleaner vehicles. I am speaking only as a layman who observes that there is plenty of snow in our winters these days, and who wonders whether it might be time for government to start taking seriously the possibility — however remote — that Corbyn is right. If he is, that will have big implications for agriculture, tourism, transport, aviation policy and the economy as a whole. Of course it still seems a bit nuts to talk of the encroachment of a mini ice age.”

Responses to Boris’s pontifications were both rapid and comprehensive. Carbon Brief were first to come forward with a really excellent article, including contributions directly addressing points raised by Boris from experts at Imperial College, the Met Office and UCL. A really interesting read that rightly concludes that :

Unfortunately polling data shows a significant number of people are still confused about what’s causing climate change. Fringe scientific theories receiving more attention than they warrant from some parts of the media – and some columnists – probably doesn’t help.”

Other reactions include The Guardian who reference the Carbon Brief article and Greenpeace who provide some additional analysis on Boris’s comments.  The Skeptical Science blog also provides a useful contribution to the debate on the issue of solar activity and climate change. The LSE’s climate change unit also responded via the New Stateman.  Meanwhile Piers Gough’s website says that “Piers was filmed by BBC Politics London Show discussion Sunday 27 Jan BBC1 11am A representative of Boris Johnson will be interviewed.” So it appears that the discussion will continue for at least a few more days…

Despite the controversies that have arisen around the Mayor’s comments, it should be mentioned that the Mayor has released comprehensive strategies on climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation in 2011.

Posted in News | Leave a comment

How can existing suburban neighbourhoods be best adapted to reduce further impacts of climate change?

23 October 2012: This report sets out that:

  • It is in suburbs that the majority of the population will be affected by climate change.
  • The impacts of these changes will be felt by people, in terms of, for example, increased heat stress and reduced comfort during hot spells,restrictions on water use, reduced air quality, and stress and costs associated with flooding and storm damage.
  • There is no clear process, or delivery mechanism,for adaptation and/or mitigation at the suburban neighbourhood scale.

Download the report from the Suburban Neighbourhood Adaptation for a Changing Climate (SNACC) website here.

Posted in Library, News | Tagged | Leave a comment

Top 20 Cities with Billions at Risk from Climate Change

July 2012:  With the weather we’re currently experiencing, it’s interesting to read this Bloomberg article setting out that “More than 130 port cities around the world are at increasing risk from severe storm-surge flooding, damage from high storm winds, rising and warming global seas and local land subsidence. Poorly planned development often puts more people in vulnerable areas, too, increasing risk. About $3 trillion of assets are at risk today, a tally on track to reach $35 trillion by 2070, according to an ongoing study by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development.” Click through the slides to see the 20 port cities most vulnerable to climate extremes – which doesn’t fortunately include London.

London is however likely to face increased challenges associated with flooding – as set out in chapter 3 of the Mayor’s Climate Change Adaptation Strategy which highlights that:

  • Nearly 15 per cent of London lies on the former flood plains of London’s rivers”
  • A significant proportion of London lies within the Thames tidal floodplain and without the protection afforded by the tidal flood defences, much of that area would flood twice a day, everyday on each high tide
  • The last tidal flood in London was in 1928, when 14 people drowned in Pimlico. In 1953, London narrowly escaped damage whena tidal surge inundated large parts of Kent and Essex, killing over 300 people. This resulted in the construction of the current Thames tidal defences, an integrated system comprising the Thames Barrier, 185 miles of floodwalls, 35 major gates and over 400 minor gates.
  • The Thames Barrier has been operational since 1982 and has been closed over 100 times to protect London from flooding

The Museum of London’s 2011 ‘Postcards from the Future’ exhibition imagined what London might look like as a result of a number of future stress factors, including climate change. The 14 striking images, which include wind turbines in Piccadilly Circus, a nuclear power station in Kew Gardens and palm oil cultivation in Hyde Park, can be viewed here.

Posted in News | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Designing Buildings for Future Climate – Conference

June 2012: An interesting one-day conference to be held at the Building Centre on Tuesday 12 June focusing on how future buildings will have to adapt as a result of climate change. The projects were supported through the Technology Strategy Board (TSB)  Design for Future Climate: Adapting Buildings competition which funded 50 projects to assess climate change risks and develop adaptation strategies across a variety of building types including housing, schools, offices and university buildings.

A number of London projects were included in the project and will be highlighted during the day including: Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) Phase 2b, London Bridge Station Redevelopment, Andrew Ewing Primary School (Hounslow), the London School Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the University of Greenwich, and 100 City Road.

Attendance is free – further details of the event including agenda can be viewed here.

Posted in Events, News | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Tools for Cooling Urban Heat Islands

June 2012: The Clean Energy Solutions Center (cleanenergysolutions.org) is hosting a series of free webinars including one entitled ‘Global Cool Cities: Tools for Cooling Urban Heat Islands’. Chapter 5 of London’s ‘Climate Change Adaptation Strategy‘ provides detailed information on the challenges faced in urban areas as a result of increasing temperatures and the webinar hosted by Clean Energy Solutions Center will focus on“how cool roof and pavement materials can mitigate urban island heat effects, lower energy costs, and improve the environment.The webinar takes place on Wednesday, June 13, 2012 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM BST – the link to register is here. Further information on climate change adaptation issues and London can be found here.

Posted in News | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Europe’s future depends on cities resilient to climate change

14 May 2012: European Environment Agency (EEA) report launched considering the response required by EU cities to rising temperatures as a result of climate change.  “In Europe, temperature is increasing, precipitation is changing and sea level is rising. However, the effects will not be uniform across the continent, according to the EEA report, ‘Urban adaptation to climate change in Europe‘. The report is the first Europe-wide assessment of urban vulnerability to climate change.” Read the full press release here.

Posted in Library, News | Tagged | Leave a comment

Climate Change Advice to Planners

March 2012: The UK-GBC Green Building Guidance Task Group has created a number of documents to help Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) and the new neighbourhood forums to “understand sustainability issues, to ensure they achieve a balance between requiring robust sustainability standards but also ensuring development remains viable.” Notes produced cover issues on climate change adaptation, climate change mitigation and energy. Download notes from UKGBC website here.

Other useful resources for planners include:

Posted in News | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Ecobuild hits London

March 2012: Over 130  hugely interesting  seminars plus a major conference are all taking place at Ecobuild, to be held over 20-22 March at the Excel Centre at Royal Victoria Docks.
Far too many seminars to detail here, but they cover all aspects of renewable and community/decentralised energy systems, building energy efficiency, the Green Deal, FITs, behaviour change, low carbon cities, climate adaptation etc.

Apply for a free ticket at www.ecobuild.co.uk.

Posted in Events, News | Leave a comment