A guest post by Greg Collier-Jones, Project Manager of Keep Herefordshire Warm
We live in an increasingly global economy. The things we use are produced all over the world. We burn valuable hydrocarbons to heat our inefficient buildings. It is a throwaway society of fast fashion and planned obsolescence. If we are to meet the challenge of reducing global greenhouse gas emissions, then this has to change. And change is best led by cities and regions to ensure it still meets local needs.
The lies we tell ourselves
You may have heard that the UK has reduced its emissions by 25%, and that China is the largest carbon emitter globally. In truth, the things we buy and use here in the UK are produced in China, Bangladesh and Korea, and are counted among their emissions and not ours. We have not reduced our emissions nearly as much as we like to think. We have merely moved them off-shore, hidden them elsewhere, because they are inconvenient.
Local Action, Global Consequences
Although climate change is a global issue, its consequences will be profoundly local. Cities and regions will have their own challenges. As extreme weather events become more common the challenges in each city and region will be unique. Some areas will experience more flooding events while others will go through drought, leading to devastating crop failure. The urban heat island phenomenon will make heat waves more intense, while in other parts, where extreme cold has not previously been a problem, cold snaps will have a much greater impact.
Old buildings long legacies, the challenges of past use when preparing for a radically different future
To compound this, our built environment is a function of our historic climate. Buildings were constructed to deal with the environment as it was at the time using the abundance of cheap, guilt-free fossil fuels.
Historic buildings in the United Kingdom were built to allow air and moisture to pass in and out. They were designed to be heated with intense point heating from cheap coal and wood. Conversely, contemporary buildings in Spain were designed to minimise heat gain, with shaded windows set deep into the building. As a result, fuel poverty is a bigger issue in the Mediterranean than it is here.
Eighty to ninety percent of the built environment we will have in 2050 has already been built. So, our biggest challenge is modifying the buildings we have. Yes, proper planning of new builds is vital, but how do we future-proof buildings that are already there? How do we keep the heat in and how do we keep the heat out? How do we both flood proof the house and lessen its water footprint? All of these things are achievable – but it will be challenging to modify our built environment to meet the challenges of global climate change, and a lot or mistakes have already been made in attempts to retrofit buildings.
The leadership in cities and regions have a key role to play
Local leadership and expertise are vital if attempts to modify our built environment to meet the challenges of the future will succeed. Devolution of decision-making from central government to regions and cities is vital to equitably and effectively meet the ambitious goals we have set ourselves as part of the Paris Accord. Not only do we need to address the buildings in the environment in which they sit, maintaining green spaces and planting trees can have positive impacts on many of the challenges that face us in the coming decades. A tree absorbs pollutants from the atmosphere, it will provide shade in the summer but allow all heat to be captured in the winter. The root system will help reduce run off and reduce the risk of flooding. This is just one example of how joined up thinking within cities and regions can achieve a range of objectives.
Energy efficiency must come first
Energy efficiency is the vital first step to limiting global climate change. The less we use the less we have to create – be that energy or products. Energy-wise, we need to maximise the passive heating and cooling of our built environment. As we reduce heat loss, we increase the risk of overheating. We cannot over-insulate buildings and then have to fit air conditioning. It is important to remember every building is unique and needs treating as such. Two superficially similar buildings may need entirely different retrofit based on their use and location. For this reason, decisions need to be made at a local level by the leadership of cities and regions, with the support of local impartial energy experts like Severn Wye.
Our relationship with stuff must change, the circular economy is a vital tool
And now we come to ‘stuff.’ The stuff we started with, the stuff we buy from far away, and ultimately the stuff we throw away. The circular economy refers to the idea that things should be designed with end-of-life in mind. When buying stuff, we need to ask ourselves “is it built to last?” and “when it comes to the end of its life, can it be easily deconstructed and reused locally?” Through doing this we can reduce the carbon emissions we are responsible for. But the pressure is not all on us as the consumers. If we’re serious about low-carbon consumption, things we rely on cannot be produced thousands of miles away. Things that are built to last or built to be recycled need to be more affordable. Cities and regions need to create an environment which favours the local production of goods built, with the end of life implications in mind which can be deconstructed and recycled locally.
There is no silver bullet but local leadership is key
Local challenges mean that every area must take a unique approach to tackle the climate crisis. It is not just about reducing carbon emissions, but planning for future climatic conditions that we are guaranteed to experience even if we successfully limit the temperature change to a 2-degree rise. Energy efficiency is the vital first step in domestic, public and commercial buildings. It must be led and delivered locally so the approach is appropriate and well thought-out. We also need to rethink how we account for the embodied carbon in things we use that were produced elsewhere on the planet. A fairer picture may be created by accounting for the emissions in the place a product is used, and not where it is produced. By doing this, we will start to find more local solutions and encourage a circular economy where much less is wasted. Markets will demand lower-carbon production rather than just cheaper, faster production. As consumers we need to be more discerning about what we buy and ensure it is designed to last, so that when we are eventually forced to dispose of it, it can be easily deconstructed and its parts reused again and again. These things alone will not halt anthropogenic climate change, but other as part of the overall approach they will make a significant contribution to limiting the global temperature rise and mitigating its effects.
