Contact: Christine Seaward, ext 6774 email: [email protected]

1. Climate change is a very significant issue for Hampshire and for the County Council. It is likely to have a direct impact on land and property, on land use planning, biodiversity, transport, water resources and management. It will demand improved, better informed decision-making in the short term to plan for the longer term.

2. Climate change could be the cause of much of the flooding which Hampshire has experienced over the last two years. There is a need to raise awareness amongst Council Members of climate change as a cause of flooding and the practical impacts for the County Council.

3. The County Council's climate change programme integrates mitigation, adaptation and raising awareness. This work includes projects which focus on actions to benefit the community, on corporate issues to improve the Council's performance and, in some cases, those which address both.

4. The County Council has a number of partnerships at local, regional, national and EU levels which allow the exchange of information and experience on mitigating and adapting to climate change. The Council is also involved not only in developing its own projects to address climate change issues both also those within the community of Hampshire.

5. The challenges that face the County Council are:

(i) To maintain awareness amongst Members and officers of the work being undertaken within the climate change programme.

(ii) To manage this programme in an effective and integrated manner ensuring that the outputs from projects and programmes are expressed within a policy framework.

(iii) To manage its own activities to demonstrate good practice and community leadership.

(iv) To continue to work with initiatives that maintain the Council's reputation as being amongst the leaders in this work within the United Kingdom.

6. The programme of work currently being undertaken by the Council includes:

(i) working at a transnational level to share best practice and influence the development of policy;

(ii) undertaking practical action to deliver significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions both from corporate operations and from the community;

(iii) leading and developing a range of energy projects to determine the role of energy from renewable resources;

(iv) transportation initiatives such as MIRACLES and ROMANSE;

(v) coastal defence and shoreline management;

(vi) work of the Water Strategy;

(vii) the River Itchen Sustainability Study; and

(viii) Biodiversity

Specific details of this work are set out in the attached appendix.

Recommendation

That short presentations, including an internal seminar, be given to Members and officers in order to highlight the significance of a changing climate on a number of operational areas of the County Council's activities and responsibilities, and to share information about the current and planned programme of work.

8420/CS

APPENDIX

CLIMATE CHANGE PROJECTS

TRANSNATIONAL LEVEL WORKING

Hampshire County Council maintains contacts and links with Europe through meetings, conferences and events such as Green Week 2003. The County Council is investigating becoming a partner in an EU project looking at the policy response to the impact of climate change on biodiversity with particular reference to coastal areas and the Natura 2000 network.

ESPACE: European Spatial Planning - Adapting to Climate Events

This project has been developed by the County Council and gained funding from the Interreg IIIB programme in June 2003. The aim of ESPACE is to ensure adaptation to climate change is recognised and to recommend that it is incorporated within spatial planning mechanisms at local, regional, national and European levels. The project will focus specifically on how water resources are managed and how to plan for a future with changing climate. The ESPACE partnership brings together 10 partners from the UK, Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. The County Council is not only the project manager for ESPACE but is also a partner in the project and has developed a programme of actions over the four year duration

Nottingham Declaration

On 27 February 2001 the County Council declared its commitment to taking practical action by signing the UK local government Nottingham Declaration on Climate Change. This declaration commits the Council to work with Central Government in delivering the UK climate change programme in this country. Key to this is a commitment to work with all sectors of the community in producing a plan to address the causes and effects of climate change and deliver a climate change strategy for Hampshire. It also commits the Council to achieving significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions both from its corporate operations and from the community.

Climate Change Audit of the County Council's Activities

The first step towards producing a climate change strategy is an audit of all the policies and activities currently being undertaken by the County Council that relate to climate change. Consultants were commissioned to carry out this work which has provided a starting point from which to develop new partnerships, policies and activities that address mitigation and adaptation to climate change within Hampshire and the County Council.

The output from the audit will make a direct contribution to the Council's actions as a partner within the ESPACE project. The climate change strategy will fulfil commitments in the Nottingham Declaration and some of the objectives of ESPACE.

ICLEI/Councils for Climate Protection Campaign Pilot - England and Wales

Hampshire County Council was one of 22 local authorities in England and Wales selected to take part in the pilot phase of the Councils for Climate Protection Campaign in England and Wales. The pilot focused on mitigation issues and the identification and measurement of greenhouse gas emissions both corporately by the authority and across the county as a whole.

Lessons applied from this national pilot have led to the Local Authority Carbon Management Programme run by the Carbon Trust, launched this autumn.

Local Authority Carbon Management Programme, Carbon Trust

The aim of the programme is to enable local authorities to reduce their carbon emissions through positive action. The programme is aimed initially at a number of pilot authorities, including the County Council, chosen because of their previous areas of success in carbon reduction or climate change work and awarded consultancy time valued at £50,000. The focus of the programme is the reduction in direct greenhouse gas emissions under the control of local authorities, eg energy use in council owned buildings, fuel use in council owned vehicles, methane emissions from council owned or operated landfill sites. The project will involve cross-departmental working within the County Council, including Environment; Property, Business and Regulatory; Transport Management; Chief Executive and others. At present the detailed project proposal is being developed with the assistance of external consultants PWC.

The timescale of the project is long term, but initially an implementation plan will be developed by March 2004.

Renewable Energy Projects

At a regional level the County Council is involved in work being led by the South East England Regional Assembly (SEERA) on developing renewable energy targets for the South East on a county basis.

A growing range of work aims to increase the amount of energy supplied to communities in Hampshire from renewable sources. This includes:

(i) Through the Natural Light Partnership the Council has helped to develop the Petersfield Project. Its main aim is to provide a platform from which a range of community scale projects to supply renewable energy from local resources to communities across the South East and beyond will develop.

(ii) The County Council is leading a project to supply Calshot Activities Centre, a Hampshire outdoor pursuits centre, with heat and power generated by tides, wind and biomass. Funding is provided by the Energy Saving Trust.

(iii) Installation of low head turbines and mill wheels in mill races to generate hydro electricity, an assessment of the South East Region's resource and the development of trial pilot generating projects, including Whitchurch Silk Mill.

(iv) A study of the potential to use biofuels from crops grown in Hampshire to power the buses of Hampshire is under way.

(v) An assessment of Hampshire's on-shore wind resource along with the constraints to harnessing it as a source of power is being undertaken.

TRANSPORT

A major focus of the County Council's work on transport involves the promotion of public transport as a means of mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.

Highways management will need to take account of the impacts of a changing climate in construction, management and maintenance decisions. These already include:

(i) warmer/wetter winters will increase the level of winter maintenance because more ice is likely in marginal temperature ranges with damper/wetter roads;

(ii) flooding mitigation measures and the infrastructure of drainage systems will need to be reviewed under the likelihood of increased intensity and duration of rainfall;

(iii) increased summer temperatures have already had an impact on the road making materials used; and

(iv) the extended growing season will result in grass verges and weeds needing to be maintained with further cuts and applications of weed control.

EU Projects

The County Council has established a number of projects with partners in Europe.

Winchester has been designated a Clear Zones Trailblazer in recognition of initiatives in the area reducing the impact of traffic on health and the environment.

The MIRACLES (Multi Initiatives for Rationalised Accessibility and Clean Liveable EnvironmentS) project is a four-year EU funded programme coordinated by the County Council. The project will bring 10 key initiatives to the city centre, including identifying heavy polluting vehicles and developing strategies to deal with them; equipping park and ride buses - and later other buses serving Winchester - with clean engine technology; developing measures for environmentally-linked parking charges which allow clean vehicles to park in the city centre at reduced cost; and developing an electronic `smart' bike hire scheme connecting key transport interchanges with tourist and business destinations with secure cycle parking facilities.

The ROMANSE project, ROad MANagement System for Europe, based in Southampton started as a pilot project in 1992 to develop a flexible solution to increasing congestion. Using Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) to shape the region as a model for transport management across Europe, ROMANSE disseminated timely and accessible information to travellers both before and during their journeys. People could then make informed choices about their route, time of journey and, most importantly, mode of transport.

Under the Thermi Targetted Project (TTP) ENTRANCE, the County Council signed up to Alter-Europe in 1999. This project seeks to declare areas of cities to be clean air zones where preference is given to vehicles powered by alternative, cleaner fuels. The County Council showed its commitment by winning a Clear Zone award, introducing a number of Council-owned vehicles powered by clean gas and developing innovative gas and diesel electric hybrid buses.

South Hampshire Light Rapid Transit (SHRT)

The Government has now given Hampshire County Council and Portsmouth City Council (the promoters) approval to build a tram scheme linking Fareham, Gosport and Portsmouth. A decision on funding is still awaited from Central Government. The tram system would provide a fast, frequent, reliable and high capacity public transport service. It would offer an alternative means of travel for people who use cars at present and for those who lack an accessible public transport service.

Biofuels

The County Council is looking into the potential use of locally produced biodiesel in public buses in Hampshire. The initial scoping study has found that it would be possible to produce enough biodiesel to power at least one bus company fleet in Hampshire and there may be potential for more. The main source for biodiesel could come from oilseed rape and therefore the viability of continued production of this crop in Hampshire also needs to be explored. Other barriers to the proposal, such as the cost of production, biodiversity issues and use of biodiesel in the existing fleet, need to be considered. It is hoped that this project will be progressed and stakeholders contacted within the coming months.

Hampshire County Council's Vehicle Fleet

The Council has taken a number of steps to improve the environmental impact of its own fleet. The Green Travel Plan is intended to provide more travel choices for staff and Members. The reasoning behind the plan is to make choosing other travel methods, rather than solo car use, far more accessible and attractive. The Travel Plan also aims to increase staff awareness of today's travel issues such as congestion and pollution. Options available are a car share scheme, annual season ticket loan for purchase of rail tickets, flexible working, a car (one LPG, one electric) and electric bike pool, and personalised journey planning. The plan is a result of the ENTIRE (European Network on Transport Innovation for Rational use of Energy) project which finished in 2000. The County Council also has a number of LPG vans for use by staff needing to travel between sites.

COASTS - SCOPAC Study

The County Council is a member of the Standing Conference on Problems Associated with the Coastline (SCOPAC) which is the regional coastal defence and shoreline management planning group for the central south coast. A study was completed in 2001 by a consortium led by Halcrow called `Preparing for the Impacts of Climate Change'. The study assessed the implications of climate change for coastal processes and resources, and included recommendations for improved management systems and impact indicators. The report also identified a number of key issues associated with the need to adapt to climate change, including supporting further research (eg of risk to infrastructure and need to minimise potential casualties), more flood defence measures, raising awareness, considering certain intervention policies, conserving habitat and species, improving forecasting and warning systems.

COASTS - Review of the Effects of Climate Change on the County Council's Coastal Landholdings

The County Council owns and manages more than 20 sites on the coast, totalling more than 1,800 hectares of land. The Council is also responsible for highways, rights of way and waste disposal sites, some of which are located on County Council owned coastline.

There are growing concerns about the effects of climate change on coastal land caused by rising sea levels, increased storminess and rainfall, and the resulting consequences of erosion and flooding. The constant need to maintain and improve coastal defences raises important issues of sustainability in both environmental and economic terms. A number of sites of international importance for nature conservation are located on the coastline which are threatened by coastal erosion and a changing climate.

In order to address some of these issues and take a long term strategic look a Review of the Effects of Climate Change on the County Council's Coastal Landholdings and other interests on the coast has been carried out over the past two years; the results were presented at a conference in October. An integrated action plan has yet to be formulated and agreed.

UK Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP)

The County Council is an active partner in the UK Climate Impacts Programme, which provides a direct link to climate impacts research at a national and regional level throughout the UK and links to national Government departments.

South East Climate Change Partnership (SECCP)

The County Council was part of the founding partnership of organisations and local authorities in the South East Region who commissioned a regional scoping study into the impacts of climate change. It was the first of its kind in the UK and was completed in November 1999. This type of study has now been undertaken in many other regions of the UK. SECCP was set up to continue the work as a formal partnership and in 2002 produced a guide to climate change in the South East.

The Council is represented on the Executive of SECCP and is actively involved in the continued development of the partnership and its activities.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Climate Change Summit

The County Council is a member of the steering group that organised a climate change summit for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in October 2002. The mission statement of the summit was:

"To inspire and engage public and private sector policy makers in climate change issues, characterising their relevance for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and gaining commitment for their organisations to work together to find solutions."

People attended from 12 different sectors of the community and learnt about the impacts of climate change for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, and contributed to the development of creative ideas and solutions to deal with the effects of climate change. The steering group continues to work together to achieve progress of the actions suggested at the summit.

Hampshire County Structure Plan

The County Structure Plan has been the policy vehicle for determining the way that land is used and developed for the future. In particular, one of seven Task Teams contributing to the review of the County Structure Plan has considered the implications on future spatial development decisions of Flood Risk (including the effects of climate change). The outcomes, amounting to a strategic flood risk assessment, will form part of a comprehensive response to the challenge of developing spatial planning policies.

Hampshire Water Strategy

Following an extensive consultation in 2002 the Hampshire Water Strategy was launched in March 2003. The publication, which is the first of its kind in the UK, has been prepared in partnership with organisations from across the public, private and voluntary sectors. The overall aim of the strategy is "to ensure the long term future of Hampshire's fresh water environment." After exploring the impact of pressures - such as pollution, increasing demand, flooding and climate change - the strategy sets out 50 actions under the headings of agriculture, biodiversity, water conservation, development planning, sustainable drainage, and land and river management. The impact of climate change issues in developing policy and better decision making frameworks is an important part of its work.

River Itchen Sustainability Study

The sustainability study is concerned with the long term management of the River Itchen Special Area of Conservation (SAC) to meet the needs of both wildlife and people. In particular it is determining the impact of water company operations and considering the increasing pressure of further planned development on critical species and habitats. Climate change is one of the factors affecting water availability and quality within the catchment. The goal is to achieve a reliable, environmentally sustainable and socially acceptable water resource management of the river. The study area covers the River Itchen, Hampshire and the surrounding groundwater catchment area. The County Council is a member of the steering group for this project.

Biodiversity

A changing climate will have a direct impact on the biodiversity of Hampshire with some areas experiencing extreme stress, such as the Beech woodlands and the lowland heath. Other sites of importance to nature conservation will be threatened by rising sea levels. There is a need to develop a Biodiversity Action Plan for climate change in order to consider the practical management issues as well as the changing policy responses that will be necessary.

CLIMATE CHANGE GLOSSARY

Adaptation

The response, either of whole ecosystems or individual species to changing climate. This may involve gradual evolution if the change is slow enough, or shifting habitats if it occurs quickly. Where species are unable to adapt, for example if climate change is too fast, extinction may occur. This includes the behaviour of human populations by changing their behaviour or practices to adapt to changed climatic conditions.

Anthropogenic

Man-made or human induced.

Attribution

In the context of climate change, this is the linking of observed global warming during the 20th Century to the enhanced greenhouse effect. This is achieved by comparing observed changes in temperature with those predicted to occur by climate modelling. See also Detection.

Biomass Burning

The burning of organic matter for energy production, forest clearing and agricultural purposes.

Biosphere

The regions on land, in the oceans and in the atmosphere inhabited by living organisms.

"Business as Usual" Scenario

A greenhouse gas emissions scenario which involves no precautionary action of greenhouse gas emission reduction.

Climate

The prevalent long term weather conditions in a particular area. Climatic elements include precipitation, temperature, humidity, sunshine and wind velocity, and phenomena such as fog, frost and hail storms. Climate cannot be considered a satisfactory indicator of actual conditions since it is based upon a synthesis of a vast number of elements taken as an average.

Climate Change

This strictly refers to all forms of climatic inconsistency but since climate is never a static figure and based on an aggregate the term is often used in a more restricted sense to imply a significant change. Within the media, climate change has been used synonymously with global warming. Scientists, however, use the term in a wider sense to also include past climate changes.

Climate Change Impacts

The effects on the physical environment, ecosystems, individual species and societies from changes in the climate.

Climate Feedback

A secondary process resulting from primary climate change which may increase (positive feedback) or diminish (negative feedback) the magnitude of climate change.

Climate Modelling

The simulation of the climate by computers.

Climate Protection

Protecting the climate from additional change as a result of the emissions of greenhouse gases. This term is used to describe mitigation activities.

Climate System

The Earth's climate is determined by the interactive behaviour of the atmosphere, the oceans, the biosphere, the cryosphere and the geosphere, which all make up the climate system.

Climatic Extreme

A significant departure from the normal state of the climate, which may or may not affect natural ecosystems and human societies. These include hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and droughts.

Conference of Parties

A meeting of nations which signed and ratified the Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Deforestation

Those practices or processes that result in the long term change in land use to non-forest uses. This is often cited as one of the major causes of the enhanced greenhouse effect for two reasons:

(i) the burning or decomposition of the wood releases carbon dioxide; and

(ii) trees that once removed carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in the process of photosynthesis

are lost.

Desertification

The progressive destruction or degradation of existing vegetative cover to form desert. This can occur due to overgrazing, deforestation, drought and the burning of extensive areas. Once formed, desert can only support a sparse range of vegetation.

Detection

In the context of climate change, this is the identification of a significant change in climate which is the result of the enhanced greenhouse effect.

Drought

A period of abnormally dry weather over a prolonged time period, sufficient to cause a serious hydrological (water cycle) imbalance in the affected area. The severity of the drought depends upon the degree of moisture deficiency, the duration of the drought and the size of the affected area.

Ecosystem

A system of interconnected habitats and their species of flora (plants) and fauna (animals), usually defined by a specific geographical area and/or climatic regime, eg mountain, polar, forest ecosystems.

El Niño

A climatic phenomenon occurring every three to seven years, usually beginning around Christmas in the surface oceans of the eastern equatorial Pacific. The phenomenon involves seasonal changes in the direction of Pacific winds and abnormally warm surface ocean temperatures. The changes normally only affect the Pacific region, but major events can disrupt weather patterns over much of the globe. The relationship between these events and global weather patterns are poorly understood and are currently the subject of much research.

Emissions

The release of a substance (usually a gas when referring to the subject of climate change) into the atmosphere.

Energy Efficiency

Quantitatively, the more energy that can be produced per unit mass of fuel, the more efficient is the energy production. The efficiency with which energy is utilised can be increased by both improving energy supply technology and managing energy demand more effectively.

Enhanced Greenhouse Effect

The natural greenhouse effect has been enhanced by man's emissions of greenhouse gases. Increased concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide trap more infrared radiation, so heating up the atmosphere. See also greenhouse effect.

Evapo-transpiration

Water evaporated from the Earth's surface and transpired by vegetation.

Feedback Mechanisms

Factors which increase or amplify (positive feedback) or decrease (negative feedback) the rate of a process.

Fingerprint

In the context of climate change, this is a climatic or climate-dependent variable, such as surface temperature, stratospheric temperature, precipitation or sea level, whose signal has a structure unique to the predicted enhanced greenhouse effect. Climatic fingerprints are used to detect man-made climate change, ie to attribute observed climate changes to the increase in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations.

Framework Convention on Climate Change

The climate treaty signed at the Earth Summit in Brazil, 1992, by over 150 countries, to protect the Earth's climate system from dangerous anthropogenic interference by mankind.

General Circulation Model (GCM)

A computer model used to simulate human-induced climate change. GCMs are highly complex and model such factors as reflective and absorptive properties of clouds, annual and daily solar heating, ocean temperatures and ice boundaries. The most recent ones are coupled to models of ocean circulation.

Global Warming

A theory that increased concentrations of greenhouse gases are causing an elevation in the Earth's surface temperature. See also enhanced greenhouse effect.

Global Warming Potential (GWP)

An index used to approximate the effect of an instantaneous release of a unit mass (1 kilogramme) of a greenhouse gas into the atmosphere, relative to that of carbon dioxide. The index takes into account the lifetime of the gas and describes the relative effectiveness of the gas in contributing to global warming.

Greenhouse Effect

A term used to describe the effect where greenhouse gases trap re-emitted infrared radiation, so heating up the atmosphere. This is a natural phenomenon and increases the Earth's average surface temperature from -18°C to +15°C. This should not be confused with the enhanced greenhouse effect, the increase of the greenhouse effect as a result of human activities.

Greenhouse Gases

These include water vapour, carbon dioxide, tropospheric ozone, nitrous oxide, methane and other lesser gases. They allow short-wave ultraviolet (UV) radiation to pass through unimpeded but trap long-wave infrared radiation re-emitted from the Earth. Water vapour is the most important greenhouse gas but it is thought that concentrations in the atmosphere are being little affected by human activity. This is not the case with carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide where human activity is leading to increased levels of these gases in the atmosphere and enhancing the natural greenhouse effect.

Gulf Stream

A warm surface ocean current which originates in the Gulf of Mexico and flows north-east across the Atlantic. It influences the climate of the UK and north-west Europe by bringing with it humid mild air.

Hydrological (Water) Cycle

The exchange of water between the atmosphere, the land and the oceans.

Ice Age

Periods in the history of the Earth characterised by a growth of the ice caps towards the equator and a general lowering of global surface temperatures, especially in temperate mid-latitudes. The most recent ice age ended about 10,000 years ago. Ice advances in this period are known to have altered the whole pattern of global atmospheric and ocean circulation.

Instrumental Record

A direct record of climate, such as temperature, precipitation, wind and atmospheric pressure, recorded by man-made instruments. See also Non-instrumental Record.

Intergovernmental Panel on Global Climate Change (IPCC)

A scientific body established in 1988 by the UNEP (United Nations Environmental Programme) and WMO (World Meteorological Organisation) with three main objectives:

(i) to assess the available scientific information on climate change;

(ii) to assess the environmental and socio-economic impacts of climate change; and

(iii) to formulate response strategies.

The group played a large part in the formulation of a UN framework convention on climate change, signed in 1992, and have produced three major assessment reports; the first in 1990, the second in 1996 and the third in 2001.

Kyoto Protocol

The third Conference of Parties took place at Kyoto, Japan, in December 1997, at which further greenhouse gas emission reduction targets were negotiated (a global reduction of greenhouse gases by 5.2% by 2008 to 2012). As a Protocol, the agreement will become legally binding once enough countries have ratified it.

La Niña

An accumulation of abnormally cold water in the eastern and central Pacific as a result of strengthened easterly trade winds. La Niña events sometimes but not always follow El Niño episodes.

Mitigation

The action of reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases by reducing energy usage, increasing the efficiency in the usage of energy and usage of renewable forms of energy.

Non-instrumental Record

An indirect or proxy record of climate, reconstructed by information taken from tree rings (dendroclimatology) and ice cores.

Palaeoclimatology

The study of climate and climate change during the geological past.

Precautionary Approach

The approach promoted by the Framework Convention on Climate Change to help "achieve stabilisation of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous man-made interference with the climate system".

Precipitation

Rainfall, snowfall and hail.

Radiative or Climate Forcing

A variation in the balance of energy absorbed by the Earth and that emitted by it. This can be due to natural causes such as variation in the solar output or by anthropogenic causes, such as the enhanced greenhouse effect. Positive radiative forcing has the effect of warming the surface of the Earth, whilst negative forcing has a cooling effect.

Recovery Period

In the context of climate, the period of time taken for a society to recover from a climatic extreme events. See also Return Period.

Return Period

In the context of climate, the period of time between two climatic extreme events. See also Recovery Period.

Renewable Energy

Energy sources which are not used up or depleted by over-consumption, and which are naturally replenished so that they can effectively be used indefinitely. Renewable energy sources include solar energy, wind energy, geothermal energy, hydroelectric power and biomass energy.

Sink

A reservoir that uptakes a pollutant from another part of its cycle.

Solar Radiation

Radiation emitted from the Sun, which has wavelengths in the visible (light) and ultraviolet parts of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Thermal Expansion

The increase in volume (or decrease in density) of ocean water as a result of increased temperature of the water. Results in sea level rise.

Thermohaline Circulation

The vertical movement of water in the oceans driven by differences in temperature and salinity. Cold, salty water is heavier than warmer, less saline water and will sink into the deep ocean.