Earthscan Sustainability 2

Earthscan recently held a conference in London 'Does Sustainability need an update?'

Brilliant speech by Professor Bill Adams - available as a video download - really recommend it.

Watch the video here

Climate Safety

This new report from the Public Interest Research Centre brings the science of climate change up to date since the publication of the IPCC AR4 reports - although these were only published last year they were based on peer reviewed science which was 5 years old. Climate Safety updates - particularly on Arctic Ice Melt and carbon sink effectiveness.

Their report can be downloaded here.

The foreword is written by Sir John Houghton - co-chair of the IPCC and former DG of the Met Office. He states "I wish to commend the authors of the Climate Safety report for their carefully researched assessment of the climate future, the severity of its likely impacts as currently understood and the urgent demands that are made on both global and national action. They point out the 2°C target as currently pursued will almost certainly turn out to be inadequate and will soon need to be substantially strengthened."

The main conclusion of the report is that as climate change is occurring much quicker than originally predicted, in order to maintain global temperature increases below 2 degrees C CO2 levels will have to be stabilised at 300ppm and not the 450-550ppm recommended by the Committee on Climate Change or in the Stern Report.

The report concludes with a series of required actions.

An important read.

Mark Lynas - author of Six Degree said the following of the report “Climate Safety plainly shows us that we need to inject a sense of urgency into the debate about how we respond to climate change. It’s not about gradually reducing emissions any more, it’s about recognising the risks we face and cutting our emissions to zero as quickly as possible.”

George Monbiot, Guardian columnist said “You cannot overstate the importance of this report: it has opened my eyes to levels of climate risk far beyond those of which I was aware. Crisp, clear-headed and profoundly shocking, this report should be read immediately by everyone who cares.”

80% by 2050 - legal assent

80% by 2050 is now legally binding! The Climate Change Bill received Royal Assent on the 1st Dec.. The Climate Change Committee has been set up to over see monitoring - they have have new web site - see here.

The CCC have recommended a 34% (cf 1990) cut in CO2 emissions by 2020 - see their press release here.

In addition they have published a huge document on creating a low carbon economy based on the new legislation. This is clearly and important document which I have yet to read - it is downloadable here.

This is important stuff - visit the web site - 34% cuts in CO2 in 12 years time is a stiff target which can only be achieved by major change

One Shot Left

George Monbiot's latest offering in the Guardian is the most gloomy thing I have read about climate change ever

He has based his conclusions on the recent findings of Jim Hansen the NASA climate specialist. Hansen assets that 350ppm is the safe level of CO2 in the atmosphere (we are currently above 380ppm) and anything above that could lead to rapid catastrophic climate change across the globe.

Monbiot also refers to the work of the Public Interest Research Centre who are holding a conference on the topic on Thursday 27th Nov.

The science has moved on rapidly from the 2007 IPCC reports, ice sheets melting much more rapidly, methane venting from the tundra etc etc etc.

It is obviously time to act (80% by 2050) but have we left it too late.......

Gloomy, Monbiot, may be but One Shot Left is essential reading.

National Parks and the National Trust in the uplands

There have been two stories recently in the media regarding the uplands and peat.

National Parks have expressed major concerns about how the changes in funding to farmers is threatening livelihoods and will have a disastrous impact on nature, tourism, water supplies and even climate. These comments follow on from a report published by Exeter University on Hill Farming Systems in South West England: economic viability and the delivery of public good commissioned by Dartmoor & Exmoor National Park Authorities.

If agricultural collapses in the uplands there is a large concern that we will be unable to manage our peatlands which are acting as massive carbon stores and sinks.

Fred Worrall, a leading peat researcher based at Durham University, said the ideal carbon moorland sink is a pristine lawn of sphagnum moss untouched by sheep or cattle or horses. But as areas like Dartmoor have been grazed for thousands of years, such landscapes are very rare.

If sheep or cattle were removed from all upland, Worrall said, perfect moss would not suddenly appear. Instead shrubby vegetation and birch woods would spring up. This has already happened in some parts of Dartmoor. Such vegetation would make the peat dry out – and lose its effectiveness as a carbon sink.

So Worrall says that the grazing of some sheep and cattle is a good thing. But the problem is nobody knows quite how many sheep or cattle would be ideal.

Secondly the National Trust have just celebrated the 10th Anniversary of the acquisition of Hafod y Llan, a 4,000 acres hill farm in Snowdonia, following a hugely successful fundraising appeal.

Iwan Huws Director in Wales for the National Trust said 'The uplands are particularly rich in natural resources and much loved by the public. But the role of hill farms in managing these assets is largely unrecognised. With the right investment, these farms could be rewarded for their important contribution to our wildlife as well as the management of the finite resources such as water and soil, which will benefit us all.'

He continued 'Ten years ago any notion that hill farmers would farm for water or for carbon would have been dismissed as fantasy. But with the pressures of a changing climate and the need to protect and value our natural capital, the future of hill farming will focus on a mixture of food production and providing wider environmental benefits for society.'

Peak oil and Local Authorities

Oil Depletion Analysis Centre and the Post carbon Institute have produced a useful booklet entitled Prearing for Peak oil: local authorities and the energy crisis. It can be download free of charge from here.

The book has been reviewed by Rob Hopkins on the Transition Culture website.

350

350 is a US based campaign to get our CO2 emissions to 350 ppm - the level this campaign feels will ensure a sustainable life on earth.

Read thier website - can you disagree?

We are currently at 387ppm - politicians state that 450 ppm will be OK.

Current global economic policies if unchanged will take us to 800ppm.

Irreversible climate change is likely to occur between 35--450-550 ppm.

The precautionary principle? or Russian Roulette? Its up to us.