October 2008 Archives

Article deleted.

Today is Blog Action Day and so I'm going to say a few words about how climate change impacts the world's poor.
Poverty is not just a problem in the developing world, but right here at home and the UK's poorest continue to be the most socially excluded and disenfranchised group, the last to be listened to, the last to be consulted.
My feeling is that many of us have grown up in a world where we have absorbed messages such as "growth is good..more is better...faster is glamorous" . Far from making us happy this has led to many of us feeling unfulfilled and isolated. It has also had a negative impact on the world's poor.
Climate change is a real threat, I've been to several workshops and seminars recently where the talk has been about "mitigation and adaptation" or developing "climate resilience". I have heard little about environmental justice. Yet, "affordable" homes continue to be built on floodplains, and Oxfam's research shows that those with the smallest carbon footprints are paying the human and social costs for choices made by those with the biggest carbon footprints.
Environmental justice links to many concerns. Housing, urban regeneration and local service provision all affect quality of life. Public spending on these issues is likely to increase or decrease inequalities depending on where and how policies are developed and managed.
There has been some research recently which asks if it is possible to tackle social exclusion and environmental problems through integrated policies and developments.
I recently visited the Seedley and Langworthy Trust just outside Manchester. SALT has developed a strong track record of working directly with the community, responding to individual and group needs in a compassionate and understanding way. One of the main aims of SALT has been to make sure that local people's views, thoughts, fears and aspirations for the future are listened to at the most influential levels. Here in Chester the residents of Blacon were shortlisted in Nesta's Big Green Challenege for environmental plans which grew out of social regeneration. In both cases strong community cohesion grew as members of the community began to trust and respect each other. This led to projects such as development of safe play areas, which in turn led to reduced carbon emissions.
Environmental justice is about equity, I would define it as the fair treatment of people regardless of race, colour, national origin or income. Nobody should have to suffer a disproportionate share of the negative environmental consequences which result from social, industrial or commercial growth.
Oxfam may tell stories of women in Bangladesh who are directly feeling the impacts of climate change, but we hear little on the news of impacts closer to home such as the gas pipeline development in Rossport County Mayo, where one resident was driven to hunger strike before the world's media began to take notice of the social and environmental impacts of Shell's plans to increase the UK's "fuel security".
So, while pop stars may continue to sing about saving the planet, I'm for saving the people and I hope that more of us will consider the social impacts of our behaviours and lifestyle aspirations from now on.

The last few weeks have been busier than ever as we prepared for the Low Carbon Communities Conference in Llangollen last weekend.
But, it has been worth it as delegates voted overwhelmingly to support a network organised by and for grass roots low carbon communities.
Of course this probably means my workload is going to increase, but how exciting to think that Chester will be the home of the first network to support community groups working in partnership to communicate the benefits of a low carbon lifestyle and the need to support governments as they create robust climate change policy.
There were several Cheshire groups represented at the conference, including Nicola Percival from Bollington Carbon Revolution who spoke to a packed hall about the need for community groups to be informed and consulted by policy makers. It was a shame no formal representative from Ashton Hayes Going Carbon Neutral could attend, but those of us who live in the village were able to share some news with other community groups and we promised to keep everyone informed of progress on the microgrid as we hear. Of course, no-one in the village really knows what's in store, but the planning applications that went in last month for 10 metre high weather measurement equipment would seem to hint that wind turbines could be part of the solution. Chatting to other residents in the village it would appear that there is some confusion about what a microgrid is and what it will do - the important thing is that the technological innovations it promises are accompanied by significant carbon reduction by residents.
Straight after the conference I travelled to Oxford University to take part in workshops on the theme of "Engaging the Public in Climate Change and Energy Demand Reduction". I came away with plenty of food for thought, particularly about the kind of language community groups use to communicate the threats we face as our climate changes. I'm going to be far more careful about using "carbon jargon" in future and make sure that the opportunities for living a more fulfilled and meaningful life are communicated by us all as we try to plan for what the Government is now calling a "climate resilient" society.
And if you have any ideas about how that might look leave a comment here. I have 2 copies of George Marshall's Carbon Detox" to give away to the most imaginative responses.