Temperatures this week have already exceeded 36 degrees in Warwickshire!
The Met Office has issued its first-ever red extreme heat warning. which means "widespread impacts on people and infrastructure" are expected, with "substantial changes in working practices and daily routines" required. It carries a risk to life, even amongst people who no prior health conditions and is likely to impact on education and businesses as well as causing damage to buildings and infrastructure.
This extreme heat comes just a week after a YouGov poll, commissioned by UK100, shows that voters in the UK want to see more support for local authorities to deal with the threat of climate change and more support for Net Zero action to address the cost-of-living crisis.
People across the UK responding to the YouGov poll said that they felt local leaders are best placed to tackle the climate crisis (34%). But 54% said their local authority had too few resources to take effective action, and 42% said they had too little power.
Warwickshire County Council is one of over 100 other councils who are members of UK100, the UK's only network of ambitious local authorities committed to Net Zero and clean air. Last week UK 100 published a series of Local Net Zero Delivery reports to assess local government progress against the UK’s Net Zero targets. The individual reports look at Transport, Energy, Heat and Buildings, Finance, Powers, Clean Air, Nature, and Waste. They found that more than 55% of UK100 members interviewed raised funding, capacity and regulation/policy issues as the biggest barriers to realising Net Zero ambitions. The reports argue that, over the last year, the Government has made significant progress in setting Net Zero targets, but without any sense of how local authorities should deliver them.
Warwickshire County Council Portfolio Holder for Environment, Climate and Culture Cllr Heather Timms said “Climate change means that we can expect more of the extreme weather we are seeing this week. This is happening when temperatures are just over 1-degree centigrade above pre-industrial levels. Even if the commitments from the COP26 conference last year are met, we will be up to 2.4 degrees higher.
“We have been very clear about our ambition to meet our Net Zero targets in Warwickshire and our continued commitment to work collaboratively with our public sector colleagues who share our ambition and commitment across the county and region. Work is underway, but it remains a significant challenge for us all. Later this year WCC will publish our Sustainable Futures Strategy, which will set out the way that we plan to reach our Net Zero targets locally, but we can’t do it alone. This week is a timely reminder that we all have a part to play in reducing carbon emissions and every action we take, no matter how small, can make a difference.”
One of the ways in which Warwickshire County Council plan to reduce carbon emissions in the county is through the Green Shoots Community Fund, where local voluntary and community groups can apply for up to £25,000 in funding to support local climate projects. Applications are now open and more details can be found at: https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/greenshootsfund
Given that the production of plastic is already responsible for 5% of greenhouse gas emissions, which are responsible for warming the planet and causing more extreme weather, Warwickshire residents are also being asked to think about ways to reduce their use of single-use plastic through a local campaign for Plastic Free July. Warwickshire County Council are sharing 31 tips, one for each day of the month, at: https://www.instagram.com/bestwarwickshire
For the latest on Warwickshire climate action and ongoing projects, visit: www.warwickshireclimateemergency.org.uk