Uniting against climate change across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole

East Dorset Friends of the Earth (EDFOE), is joining the COP 26 Global Day of Action¹  in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole on November 6^th 2021.

In conjunction with Bournemouth University and UCU they are holding a Climate Change Question Time at Bournemouth University, Lees Lecture Theatre, Talbot Campus on Saturday 6^th November, 1.00 to 3.00pm.

A Panel of local experts² will answer questions on: “What Does Climate Change Mean for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole?” Coinciding with the international COP26 Conference³ in Glasgow, the event will provide an opportunity to extend public debate on issues of climate change and biodiversity decline with a local perspective.

Entry is free, and tickets can be booked online in advance at Eventbrite-

http://tiny.cc/BCPCop26

EDFOE spokesman, Dr Martin Price says: “Governments cannot act effectively to tackle climate change without public support.  This event carries the simple message: we have the technologies and the money to avoid a climate disaster.  If we act now, we can have a cleaner, healthier, safer way of life for our children and grandchildren. We can all play our part in this⁴.”

More information:

1        World leaders will meet in Glasgow in November at the global climate talks, COP26. The COP 26 Coalition – of which Friends of the Earth are members – are organising decentralised mass mobilisations across the world, bringing together movements to raise awareness of the multiple crises facing the world.  This is not merely the potentially devastating impacts of climate change, but the global loss of species biodiversity, the pollution and waste which are damaging health and ecosystems, and global disease, which all have their greatest impact on the poorest and most vulnerable.

“While no one can escape the impacts of these crises, those who have done least to cause them suffer the most. Across the world, the poorest people and communities of colour are too often those bearing the brunt of the climate crisis. From coastal villages in Norfolk whose sea-defences are eroding faster than ever, to people living by the Niger Delta rivers blackened by oil spillage.”   

https://cop26coalition.org/about/the-coalition/

There will also be a march and speeches in central Bournemouth, from the Pier approach to the Square, supported by Greenpeace, Extinction Rebellion and COP26 Coalition.

2          Panel Members are:

Mark Kibblewhite – Chair of Dorset Wildlife Trust, Emeritus Professor at

Cranfield University.

Luke Rake – Chair of the Dorset LNP, Principal & Chief Executive of Kingston Maurward.

Cllr. Vikki Slade, Liberal Democrat leader, BCP Council

Martin Price, East Dorset Friends of the Earth

Chair – Layne Hamerston, Community Partnerships Manager, Bournemouth University.

*BCP Council and the Local Enterprise Partnership were approached to provide panel members, but do not have a suitably qualified representative able to attend on November 6^th.

3        COP26 is the annual UN climate conference. (A ‘COP’ means ‘conference of parties’).   It takes place in Glasgow between 1^st and 12 November 2021

Governments and negotiators from across the world will discuss the actions needed to keep global temperature rises below dangerous levels (ie 1.5⁰C) and to prevent the climate crisis from causing worsening catastrophes for the world’s people and economies.  The biggest threats are increases in severe weather events (droughts, floods and wildfires) which threaten lives, food production and human health; loss of natural biodiversity; rising sea levels; and mass migration, as some areas of the world become uninhabitable.

The COP is a summit of all the countries which are part of the UN’s climate change treaty – the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change or ‘UNFCCC’. There are 197 members of this process and they are known as ‘parties’ to the treaty.

4        East Dorset Friends of the Earth has published a booklet: “20 Simple Things We Can All Do To Help Reduce Climate Change”, aimed at helping households to reduce their “carbon footprint”.  We have also shared the results of research from FOE UK which provides achievable targets for BCP Council to make major cuts in Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 2030 (below).

Response by East Dorset Friends of the Earth to BCP    Council Online Public Opinion survey on Climate Emergency Issues

“Our comments build upon the list of 12 key policies for the environment which we circulated to all members of the BCP Council in June 2019. We congratulate the new Council on its constructive approach in recognising the Climate Emergency. We now urge members to work with local people and organisations to create a robust Climate Emergency Plan. Currently, 39% of greenhouse gas emissions come from housing, 32% from transport, and 29% are industrial and commercial emissions. Each of these areas needs to be targeted

1. “Creating a robust Climate Change Action Plan requires the following targets:

• Reduction of total emissions of greenhouse gases from all sources by 13% a year.
• Aim to reach zero net carbon emissions by 2030, especially through Zero Carbon Social Housing and other Council builds.
• Only 40% of homes are well insulated in BCP, and 11% of households in the area are in fuel poverty. Upgrading the insulation of 10,638 homes per year within BCP will ensure all homes are properly insulated by 2030.
• There are only 124 government funded eco-heating systems in BCP; we should be fitting 6,528 eco-heating systems every year.
• BCP has 14 neighbourhoods which have particularly high social flood risk for surface flooding, taking account a range of vulnerability factors. The local authority needs to target these areas for support, in the forthcoming Local Plan, in order to help people living there prepare for extreme weather and respond and recover when it occurs.
• BCP should set a renewable energy target of at least 119 MW by 2030.
• BCP should adopt a divestment strategy, with the aim of achieving zero investment in fossil fuel companies as soon as possible.

2. “Global heating is caused by increases in atmospheric pollution. Several of the gases involved are also known to create major risks to human health. Within BCP, transport is probably the main source of these gases.  BCP should:

• Adopt the prime target of reducing carbon-emissions from vehicles to zero by 2040 at the latest;
• Appoint an entirely independent professional body to monitor air pollution and report to the Council.  Locations and sites for monitoring would be agreed between BCP and representatives of a Citizens’ Assembly;
• Create Clean Air Zones in identified areas of excessively poor air quality; diesel delivery vehicles should be banned from residential areas;
• Revoke planning permission for the Wessex Fields development and associated roads;
• Review its planning policies, as part of the imminent Local Plan, embedding a ‘net health gain’ principle in all new developments and other council programmes;  and restricting business parking (including free parking at supermarkets)
• Increase the number of electric vehicle charging stations by 2030 to at least 197 (1 per 1000 cars). Subsidies (or licence conditions) should be considered to encourage local bus companies and taxis to switch to electric vehicles

3. “In BCP only 9% of people commute by public transport, 5% cycle, and 12% walk. In order to encourage the switch away from private vehicles, BCP should:

• Set a target of 70% of people commuting by public transport, cycling, and walking by 2030.
• Produce a totally revised Travel Plan for BCP (as part of Local Plan development and other consultation). 
• In order to reduce transport’s contribution to local greenhouse gas emissions, priority must be given to supporting pedestrian and cycle safety by: increasing the number of segregated cycle-lanes and removal of speed humps where roads are shared between motor vehicles and cycles; banning pavement parking.
• Policies should seek to increase lift-sharing – major employers should aim to have 40% of their staff who travel to work by car doing so by lift-sharing.

4. “BCP reuses, recycles and composts 53% of its household waste. This compares to the best figure of 58% in similar local authorities.  In order to reduce the carbon contribution of waste disposal, BCP should:

• Set a target of reusing, recycling or composting 70% of waste by 2025, with the aim of becoming a Zero Waste Authority by 2030
• Policies should include:  free garden/food waste collections; reductions in frequency of black bin collections to encourage recycling; active policies to engage with supermarkets and other businesses, to encourage them to cease employing single-use plastics and to take responsibility for recycling the wastes that they generate. 
• Review all current policies and contracts, with a view to maximising the recycling of waste, and to move towards creating a circular waste economy in the area.

• “Robust ecosystems, especially trees, are essential in mitigating the impact of global heating, though soil retention, flood alleviation, and carbon capture. BCP should:

• Promote biodiversity by policies which prioritise the retention and improvement of wildlife habitats (especially through the new Local Plan).
• Develop a strategy to retain existing tree cover and to encourage planting of additional trees to act as carbon sinks for CO₂. A target of 23% tree cover for the area (compared to the current figure of 12%), should be adopted.
• Phase out herbicide and pesticide use, especially within community open spaces.
• Continue to actively support the Earth Charter & Fairtrade Town commitments, and also working to becoming a sustainable food Authority;
• Establish a Standing Committee on Biodiversity, to include representatives of environmental and community groups, and businesses, as well as councillors and officers, to provide input to the development of all key policies, (particularly planning and transport plans). “

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