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Food Security, Agriculture and Climate ChangE (FACCE) Knowledge Hub – Call for Letters of Intent
A new virtual knowledge hub, FACCE, is being established in the area of agriculture, food security and climate change. This is under a new European Joint Programming Initiative (JPI) jointly led by the BBSRC and the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA). The FACCE Knowledge Hub will bring together major European modellers in the areas of crops, livestock and trade to look at how climate variability and change impact on these models. Interested research groups, with BBSRC current funding in this area, are invited to express their willingness to join the hub. The duration of the Knowledge Hub will be three years for a first phase, followed by an evaluation with a perspective of a two-year extension, subject to a successful review and budget availability. In the first stage, interested research groups will send a letter of intent in English, expressing their willingness to join the Knowledge Hub. Letters of intent must be submitted by 7th September 2011 (01:00 pm CET) through the FACCE call ESS (electronic submission server) system. More…
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Research
Nielsen’s Sustainability Survey
Concern about climate change among online consumers around the world has taken a back-seat to other environmental issues, according to Nielsen’s 2011 Global Online Environment and Sustainability Survey of more than 25,000 Internet respondents in 51 countries. While 69% of respondents said they are concerned about climate change (up from 66% in 2009, but down from 72% in 2007), concern for other environmental issues are taking a higher priority in the minds of consumers and are rising with greater intensity. Three out of four global consumers rated air pollution (77%) and water pollution (75%) as top concerns, both increasing six percentage points compared to 2009. However, the areas where concern is mounting fastest among 73% of respondents is worry over the use of pesticides, packaging waste and water shortages, with reported concern increasing 16, 14 and 13 percentage points, respectively. The USA recorded one of the steepest declines in concern about climate change among global markets over the four-year period from 2007 to 2011, dropping 14 percentage points. Overall, 83% of respondents said that it is important that companies implement programs to improve the environment, but only 22% said they would pay more for an eco-friendly product. More…
National Trust Survey
New research carried out by the National Trust, in partnership with the UK family history website Ancestry.co.uk, shows that spending a day by the seaside – as families have done for generations - comes out top when enjoying the August bank holiday. The survey revealed that 39% of respondents prefer to go to the seaside, beating shopping or visiting a theme park, to enjoy the summer’s final long weekend. Spending time with friends and family also proved popular, with a third of respondents opting to visit and share bank holidays with loved ones. At the National Trust’s Chapel Porth beach in Cornwall, the Trust and Ancestry.co.uk recreated a bank holiday beach scene from the 1950s to compare how the area is used today, finding little has changed in well over half a century about the way people enjoy the simple pleasures of the beach in summertime. This new research brings together the National Trust’s 3.8 million members with Ancestry.co.uk's 870 million records in collections, to promote and raise awareness of conserving the UK’s heritage and the stories that lie behind it. More…
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Events
Conference – ‘Food security for cities’
13th September 2011: Royal Statistical Society, London.
This one-day conference, organised by the Royal Statistical Society and Significance magazine, will explore the interlinked challenges posed by our current systems of food production and consumption: food prices are rising worldwide; production is under increasing pressure from such factors as climate change; patterns of urban consumption and distribution are changing rapidly; and food-related disturbances have already destabilised governments. Speakers confirmed to-date include: Kevin Morgan (Cardiff University), Chris Smaje, Duncan Green (Research Director, Oxfam), David Satterthwaite (International Institute for Environment and Development), Keith Jaggard (Rothamsted Research), and Dirk Willenbockel (Institute of Development Studies). More…
Symposium – ‘Waste to Wealth: Food Waste Utilisation’
18th October 2011: The King’s Manor, York.
This one-day symposium, organised by the Green Chemistry Network, in conjunction with the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence, will explore recent advances in the food waste field, including new technologies for food waste valorisation. The programme for the day will consist of a mix of presentations and breakout sessions. Speakers include representatives from industry, government agencies and universities. The symposium will conclude with a wine reception. More…
Seminar – ‘Carbon Capture and Storage: Demonstration programmes and the 2050 Roadmap’
7th February 2012: Central London.
This Westminster Energy, Environment and Transport Forum seminar will assess the requirements for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) deployment in the UK following the publication of the Government’s 2050 CCS Roadmap. Delegates at the seminar will consider key features of the first £1 billion government-backed CCS demonstration project and explore the next steps for Demonstrations 2-4, examining the barriers that the Government and key CCS stakeholders will need to overcome in order to make the technology commercially viable in the UK. Keynote addresses will be given by Adam Dawson (Chief Executive, Office of Carbon Capture and Storage, Department of Energy and Climate Change) and Prof. Jon Gibbins (Professor of Power Plant Engineering and Carbon Capture, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh). Confirmed speakers to-date include: Adam Baddeley (Principal Consultant, Eunomia Research and Consulting); Mike Farley (Chair, Strategy Task Force, The Carbon Capture and Storage Association); Dr Jim Fitzgerald (Assistant Director, Ernst and Young); John Gale (General Manager, IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme (IEAGHG); Demetris Koufos (Principal Engineer, Energy Efficiency and Climate Change, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development); Chris Littlecott (Senior Policy Adviser, Green Alliance) and Timothy Pugh (Joint Head of Planning and Environment, Berwin Leighton Paisner). More…
Forum – ‘Working in partnership to tackle fuel poverty’
20th October 2011: Central London.
There are three main causes of fuel poverty: poor energy efficiency in the home, high energy prices and low household income. As part of the Comprehensive Spending Review, the Government announced energy suppliers would be required to spend £250 million on providing assistance with energy costs in 2011/12, rising to £310 million by 2014/15. The government's Warm Home Discount Scheme will assist vulnerable households by providing them with direct support towards their energy costs. The Energy Bill, introduced to Parliament on 8th December 2010, includes provision for the new 'Green Deal', which will allow private firms to offer consumers energy efficiency improvements to their homes, at no up front cost, and recoup payments through a charge in installments on the energy bill. In March 2011, Prof. John Hills was requested by the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Chris Huhne MP, to undertake a fresh look at the fuel poverty target and definition. This forum will explore how we can improve the energy efficiency of homes in Britain through the Warm House Discount Scheme, the Green Deal, and other fuel poverty prevention strategies. Speakers confirmed to-date include: Chris Leigh (Head of Fuel Poverty, DECC), David Kennedy (Chief Executive, Committee on Climate Change), Maria Wardrobe (Director of External Affairs, National Energy Action), Dr. Noel Olsen (Public Health Physician, National Heart Forum), Steve Howlett (Chief Executive, Peabody), Audrey Gallacher (Head of Energy Policy, Consumer Focus), and Derek Lickorish (Chair, Fuel Poverty Advisory Group). More…
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Online
The Climate Policy Tracker
A new tool has been developed by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) which seeks to provide a snapshot of progress made in UK climate change policy. The tracker is divided into four categories: power, transport, industry and buildings, ranking progress as red, yellow or green at six-monthly intervals. Those categories are then sub-divided further, with information provided about the specific policies behind observed changes in progress. When using the tool, it should be noted that the CBI is a business lobbying group, such that the tool may best used for tracking business attitudes towards climate change. More…
Red Tape Challenge
The ‘Red Tape Challenge’ was launched in April 2011 to open up Government regulation to the scrutiny and challenge of the public, businesses and experts. A website has been developed to gather innovative ideas on how the objectives of current UK regulations can be fulfilled in the most successful and least burdensome ways. The aim is to encourage greater personal responsibility and remove barriers to growth by freeing up businesses from red tape. Within the Red Tape Challenge website, regulations are divided up into themes which feature on the front page for a ‘spotlight’ period of around three weeks. Two interesting themes include: (a) the Environment theme (which will be in the spotlight until 21st September 2011); and (b) the Energy theme (due to enter the spotlight on 25th November 2011, covering energy generation, supply, security and efficiency). During the spotlight periods, each theme will have a ‘Sector Champion’ to encourage the sector’s stakeholders to engage in the exercise and challenge government to achieve their objectives in the most efficient way possible. More…
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New Publications
EEA Report – ‘Waste opportunities: past and future climate benefits from better municipal waste management in Europe’
There is significant potential to cut greenhouse gases (GHGs) from municipal solid waste management, according to this new report from the European Environment Agency (EEA). The report covers the EU-27 (excluding Cyprus), Norway and Switzerland. It estimates that these countries could make GHG savings of up to 78 million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-e) by 2020, or 1.53 % of Europe's emissions in 2008. The report takes a ‘life-cycle approach’ to calculating emissions from waste, considering all direct emissions from waste during processing and transport. It also accounts for emissions that are avoided in other parts of the economy – for example, accounting for the reduction of emissions when fossil fuels are displaced by energy recovered from waste. In this way, the method can show the potential impacts of various waste management strategies. Recycling is particularly effective in reducing emissions; recycling materials from municipal waste avoids emissions that would have been generated in extracting and processing virgin raw materials and these avoided emissions are higher than the emissions caused by the recycling processes. Three different scenarios for 2020 illustrate that the potential for GHG savings largely depends on how countries implement EU waste policies, in particular whether they meet the EU Landfill Directive targets to reduce landfill of biodegradable municipal waste. More…
New Report – ‘Community Orchards Case Studies’
The Department for Communities and Local Government has recently produced a community orchards guide, accompanied by a collection of case studies, intended to highlight the new and existing support and powers available to communities looking to conserve or create community orchards. Community orchards are seen as a ‘great example of the localism and decentralisation agenda working at the grass-roots level’. The case studies presented in this report are considered to represent valuable examples of the Big Society in action; being community-led or where a community group works closely with a local authority to optimise the potential of open green space and promote the wider benefits through community orchards. They are not intended as a comprehensive list of all community orchards, but as a snapshot of the initiatives underway. More…
New Publication – ‘Get the green space you want: How the Government can help’
This publication, produced by the Department for Communities and Local Government, sets out the full range of measures in place to support communities looking to get more involved in their local community and gain access to the space they need. It sets out the relevant aspects of the Localism Bill, such as the Community Right to Buy, new Neighbourhood Planning Provisions, and the Community Right to Challenge. Also discussed are the Community Right to Reclaim Land and the National Planning Policy Framework consultation. More…
New Report – ‘Benefits of Sites of Special Scientific Interest’
This new report, produced by GHK Consulting for Defra, presents the findings of a study of the benefits of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) in England and Wales. SSSIs represent the principal national designation for places of importance for biodiversity and geodiversity in Great Britain. They are protected by law, and effort and resources are devoted to achieve sympathetic management to maintain their conservation interest. The objectives of this research were to: (a) estimate all benefits to society of SSSIs, where possible quantified and monetised; (b) estimate the added value of SSSI notification to the wider biodiversity value of the sites; (c) ascertain whether there is added value in SSSIs also being afforded other designations (e.g. Ramsar Sites, Natura 2000 sites, or National Nature Reserves); and assess, both quantitatively and qualitatively, the contribution that SSSIs make to the delivery of ecosystem goods and services both on site and within the context of the wider landscape. This report presents the findings of a literature review, 20 case studies, four workshops, a weighting matrix, ten focus groups and economic analysis. More…
New Report – ‘Economic valuation of the benefits of ecosystem services delivered by the UK Biodiversity Action Plan’
This report highlights the findings of research commissioned by Defra in 2008, undertaken by a consortium led by Aberystwyth University, which aimed to estimate the value of changes in biodiversity and associated ecosystem services which will result directly from the delivery of the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP). Specific objectives were to assess: (a) the marginal value of ecosystem services associated with the UK BAP; (b) the levels of ecosystem services delivered by different BAP habitats; and (c) the marginal value of UK BAP conservation activities – across the UK as a whole, within different regions of the UK, and across different BAP habitats and species. In the study, it was assumed that the investigated changes to the UK BAP would be achieved over a ten year period (2010 – 2020) and that the resultant ecosystem service benefits would be retained for a further 10 years. Whilst a number of caveats were highlighted, in the current scenario, the value of the ecosystem services directly attributed to UK BAP conservation activities across the UK as a whole were estimated to be £1,366m per year (range: £1,259m to £1,472m). The additional benefits of fully implementing the BAP in an increased spend scenario were estimated at £746m per annum (range £654m to £838m). More…
IIED Briefing – ‘Mainstreaming environment and health’
This joint publication of IIED and Irish Aid is part of a series that aims to clarify the links between the environment, climate change and key development sectors, and provide guidance on strategies available for mainstreaming the environment and climate change into national policies. This briefing focuses on health, highlighting that nearly one quarter of the global disease burden can be attributed to the environment. The briefing suggests that improving environmental health — raising its profile at national, state and local levels, and integrating environmental health issues into development plans and activities — is critical if we are to reduce poverty and meet the Millennium Development Goals. More…
New Book – ‘The Real Cost of Cheap Food’
This book, written by Michael Carolan, seeks to critically examine the dominant food regime, asking whether we can afford cheap food and exploring what cheap food affords us. Detailing the numerous ways that food has become reduced to a state, such as a price per ounce, combination of nutrients, yield per acre, or calories, the book argues for a more contextual understanding of food when debating its affordability. The author argues that today's global food system produces the opposite of what it promises: meat production and consumption are inefficient uses of resources and contribute to climate change; and the use of pesticides in industrial-scale agriculture may produce cheap food, but there are hidden costs to environmental protection, human health and biodiversity conservation. Caroline suggests many of these costs will be paid for by future generations – cheap food today may mean expensive food tomorrow. By systematically assessing these costs, the book delves into issues related, but not limited, to international development, national security, health care, industrial meat production, organic farming, corporate responsibility, government subsidies, food aid and global commodity markets. The book concludes by suggesting ways forward, going beyond the usual solutions such as farmers markets, community supported agriculture, and community gardens, towards microloans, subsidies for consumers, vertical agriculture, and the democratisation of subsidies for producers. More…
New Book – ‘Crops and Carbon: Paying farmers to combat climate change’
This book, by Mike Robbins, argues that wealthier countries are paying poorer countries to fight climate change on their behalf through the use of carbon sinks; reservoirs of organic carbon tied up in plants and in the earth, rather than being in the atmosphere as greenhouse gases. The book offers a critical appraisal of this mode of climate change mitigation, considering its scientific, economic and ethical basis. Can it work? Is it just? Will poorer countries benefit? Previous attention has been focused mainly on reducing emissions from deforestation and land degradation (REDD), but this book instead examines the potential for carbon sinks in agriculture, in crop plants and the soil. In assessing this, the author considers how north-south climate mitigation trading works, or does not, and highlights the key pitfalls. It discusses the complex relationship between agriculture, particularly different forms of farming systems, and the mitigation of climate change. The findings of original research with farmers in Brazil is also presented to demonstrate the challenges and prospects which these proposals offer in terms of payments for environmental services from agriculture through carbon trading. More…
New Book – ‘Authenticity in nature: making choices about the naturalness of ecosystems’
This book examines the concept of naturalness in ecosystems, discusses its value and considers choices about the level of naturalness in conservation efforts. The author argues that all ecosystems have been modified and the idea of places 'untouched by humans' is a myth, but there are large differences in the degree of modification and levels of naturalness which can be identified. Changes are not always irreversible; some apparent wilderness areas are sites of former civilizations. There is no longer any simple distinction possible between 'natural' and 'cultural' systems. In the future, society will to some extent choose the degree of naturalness in land and seascapes. The growth of protected areas is an early sign of this, as are changes in forest management, dam removal and control of invasive species. To make informed choices about these areas, the author argues that we must understand the characteristics and values of naturally regulating ecosystems: their practical benefits, social values and management needs. More…
New Report – ‘A climate of suffering: the real costs of living with inaction on climate change’
This paper, by the Climate Institute, seeks to raise awareness of the mental health consequences of extreme weather events and climate change. By reviewing the evidence and expert opinion, it is hoped that governments, businesses and communities will be prompted to act early, to avoid further unnecessary suffering and cost. As recent disasters like Cyclone Yasi and the Eastern Australian floods have shown, many people prove remarkably resilient in the face of a disaster, but people’s responses to disaster are complex. With the right support, many communities can pull together and pull through. However, for many, the dislocation and suffering caused by extreme events can linger for years, long into the ‘recovery’. This report argues that the future mental health burden depends significantly on how quickly and substantially we act on climate change now. Seeing action on climate change as an investment in preventative health care is considered to be an important first step. More…
New Reports – ‘Consumer Understanding of Green Terms’
New supplementary reports to the Defra-commissioned research, ‘Consumer Understanding of Green Terms’, by Brook Lyndhurst and Icaro Consulting have been published, entitled: ‘Consumer understanding of specific terms’ and ‘Consumer response to green labels’. While the main report looked into general awareness, familiarity, understanding and meaningfulness of different terms, the two additional supplementary reports provide specific insight into consumer responses to individual terms (e.g. “organic”, “peat free”, “carbon neutral”) and labels – breaking down the response for each term and label. These reports seek to provide a useful resource when looking to communicate messages about the environment by providing a reference guide as to how consumers respond – term by term. More…
UNEP Report – ‘Ecosystems for water and food security’
In light of the current challenge to enhance food security worldwide, this report aims to illustrate the importance of healthy ecosystems for the provisioning of key services that contribute to food security. Such ecosystem services include water provisioning and food production. The report provides an overview of the linkages between ecosystems, water, and food security. It explores how to manage ecosystems for a variety of ecosystem services such as provisioning of water and food, and how to manage ecosystems in a sustainable way so they can substantially contribute to enhancing current and future food security. More…
SEI Report – ‘Regional-Global linkages in the energy-climate-development policy nexus: the case of biofuels in the EU Renewable Energy Direction’
The European Union’s Renewable Energy Directive aims to accelerate the transition to renewable energy in the Community to support the EU energy policy goals of energy security, sustainability, and competitiveness. At the same time, the Directive – especially in its biofuels components – must also recognise the need for convergence between global and regional policy objectives. Such convergence is seen as necessary in order to align regional energy-economic objectives with global environment and development policies in general and climate policy in particular. In this publication by the Stockholm Environment Institute, the biofuels components of the Directive are evaluated – particularly the sustainability criteria – in terms of their relation to the EU energy strategy and the resulting effects on energy, climate, and development policy objectives. It is found that the design and implementation of the sustainability criteria weaken the effect of the Directive’s potential impacts on global energy markets and international development objectives, while somewhat strengthening the internal EU market and technology objectives. More…
New Report – ‘Growing Community Assets Evaluation’
In 2008, the Big Lottery Fund commissioned SQW Consulting to carry out a five year evaluation of the Growing Community Assets (GCA) investment area programme in Scotland. The programme was introduced to enable communities to have more control and influence over their future development through owning and developing local assets. The programme started in May 2006 and the last grants were awarded in April 2010. This report presents the outcomes of Phase Two of the evaluation, carried out between 2009 and 2011. Key findings include: (a) most GCA projects stated that community ownership provided increased confidence, autonomy and a legacy for the future; (b) community facility projects felt that they could be responsive to local needs and sufficiently flexible to make changes as their communities change; (c) community-owned assets seemed to be subject to less anti-social behaviour; (d) as well as making communities self-sufficient in electricity, renewable energy projects empowered communities by securing an income stream for reinvestment - they instilled pride in communities and gave them confidence to take on other projects; and (e) community ownership helped community social enterprises earn stronger balance sheets, putting them in a better position to secure other funding and to diversify their income. More…
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Jobs and Training
Jobs and Training opportunities around the Sustainable Development Research network are updated frequently on the 'Jobs and Training' page of the SDRN website…
The SDRN Mailing is a moderated information resource and dissemination service for SDRN members. You can make use of this service by sending any information for inclusion in the mailing to Sarah Bell.