The issue of climate change (aka. the Greenhouse Effect or
global warming) has been appearing with increasing frequency in the
media and has achieved prominence in the
Government’s agenda.
For background information about climate change see our
Climate Change FAQ
The City of London has been aware of and taking action on
climate change for quite some time. We were one of the first
purchasers of “green energy” in the country
and we offset the carbon dioxide emissions from the Lord Mayor's
Show, and the business travel of the Lord Mayor, other elected
members and City of London officers.
However, whilst it is absolutely essential that we continue to
cut or offset our carbon emissions, we must also plan for the
now-inevitable effects of climate change. Currently, not only is
the climate changing but the rate of change is accelerating. Even
if mankind were to cease all carbon dioxide production tomorrow (an
impossibility), past emissions will continue to affect the climate
for the next 30-40 years. See http://www.ukcip.org.uk/ for more
information.
A Beacon in "Tackling Climate Change"
The City of London Corporation has been awarded Beacon Status by
the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) for its efforts
in tackling climate change. The judges were particularly impressed
by the City's efforts to engage the business community, and the
City's pioneering climate change adaptation strategy.
Visit the
Beacon website.
Download the theme guide to 'Tackling climate change' from
the
Beacon theme website
You can view the City's full Beacon Council
application here (99kb)
See
the press release here
On 23 September 2008 there is a Beacon Award event, How to
tackle climate change.
To attend the event, download the latest information
here (53kb)
City of London climate adaption strategy
Despite the prevalence of bad news stories, there is
much that can be done to limit the impact of climate change.
With the exception of extreme weather events, the effect of climate
change will be gradual, taking place over decades rather than
years. The good news is that we can anticipate what the effects are
likely to be, so we have the opportunity to prepare ourselves and
adapt our infrastructure and services accordingly. In this way we
can ensure that, over the medium to long-term, the smooth
functioning of the City is not disrupted.
This is why the City of London commissioned a consultancy,
Acclimatise, to assist us in developing a Climate Change
Adaptation Strategy for the City.
By determining the likely impact of climate change on our
infrastructure and services and by making recommendations for
action, this strategy is a practical tool that will enable the City
of London and our stakeholders to factor climate change into
service-planning and decision-making. The strategy plan is
available to download from the link below.
Background
On 10 July 2006 the we held workshops to examine this issue.
PDFs of the presentations are available to download from the
links below.