Download Introductions - Aberdeenshire

Colin Holm
Sustainability Co-ordinator
Background to Sustainability
What is sustainability?
We’ve never had it so good
• I can drive anywhere I want, even
better, I can save time and catch the
plane
• Goods are so cheap I don’t even
need have them repaired, I can just
go out and buy new ones
• I can have strawberries in the
middle of winter
• I don’t see any problems
We’ve never had it so
good???
•
Every year in Europe we require the equivalent of another
Europe’s worth of land to support our consumption
•
More than 1 billion people subsist on less than $1 per day
•
Of those people, in sub-Saharan Africa the average income fell
from $0.62 in 1990 to $0.60 per day in 2001
•
Hunger and poverty provide fertile ground for conflict: between
1994 and 2003 13 million people died in conflict – 12 million of
whom died in sub-Saharan Africa or Asia
•
Between 1990 and 2000 940,000 square kilometres of forest
were lost and not replaced – an area the size of Venezuela
Closer to
home…
34000
33000
32000
31000
700
30000
600
29000
Million miles
travelled by car
(Scotland)
28000
500
27000
26000
400
Waste generated
per capita (UK)
300
200
100
0
1995
2003
The disposal of waste to
landfill can result in the loss
of many tonnes of valuable
materials and emit methane,
a greenhouse gas
25000
1993
2004
The pollutants emitted by road
transport contribute to poor air
quality that damages human
and ecosystem health and
contain greenhouse gases.
250000
200000
150000
North Sea Cod
Stocks
100000
50000
0
1967 1980 1990 2000 2003
How can we tackle these
problems and enhance
quality of life?
Sustainability
Definitions of Sustainability /
Sustainable Development
•
There are numerous definition of sustainable development and
sustainability (Kingston University note over 200).
•
“Development which meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own
needs” – Brundtland Commission (1987)
•
“The goal of sustainable development is to enable all people
throughout the world to satisfy their basic needs and enjoy a
better quality of life, without compromising the quality of life of
future generations” –UK Government SD Strategy (2005)
•
“Sustainable development is a dynamic process which enables
all people to realise their potential, and to improve their quality
of life, in ways which simultaneously protect and enhance the
Earth’s life support systems” - Forum for the Future (2000)
•
Most definition emphasise the ‘three pillars’ of
sustainability – environment, economy and society - to
differing degrees
An alternative model….Five
Capitals
•
Forum for the Future have developed an alternative model which uses
the language of economics to argue for sustainability.
There are 5 types of capital from which we derive the goods and
services we need to improve the quality of our lives:
•
-Natural capital (e.g. ecosystems, organisms, carbon sinks,
minerals etc etc – derived from the natural world
-Human capital (e.g. the things needed for productive work –
knowledge, health, skills)
-Social capital (e.g. families, schools, voluntary organisations)
-Manufactured capital (e.g. things that contribute to the
manufacturing process - plant and machinery)
-Financial capital (money)
•
Sustainability is about living off the income generated by capital
without reducing the capital itself
A brief history of sustainable
development
•
•
Debate over who first coined the term – some commentators
suggest Eva Balfour, some say Wes Jackson (an American
farmer)
A series of influential books started to stir debate about the
negative impacts for development – notably Rachel Carson’s
‘Silent Spring’, Garret Hardin’s ‘Tragedy of the Commons’ and
the Club of Rome’s ‘Limits to Growth’ report
"If the present growth trends in world population,
industrialization, pollution, food production, and resource
depletion continue unchanged, the limits to growth on this
planet will be reached sometime within the next one hundred
years. The most probable result will be a rather sudden and
uncontrollable decline in both population and industrial
capacity."
The Limits to Growth, a report for the Club of Rome (1972).
UN conference on the
Human Environment 1972
• Stockholm held the first conference on
sustainability in 1972 where 113 nations and 500
non governmental organisations attended.
• It was the first time that the attention was drawn to
the need to preserve natural habitats to produce a
sustained improvement in living conditions for all,
and the need for international cooperation to
achieve this.
• The emphasis was on solving environmental
problems without ignoring social, economic and
development factors.
The Brundtland Report
1987
• The report highlighted three key components to
sustainable development: environmental
protection, economic growth and social equity.
•
The environment should be conserved and our
resource base increased, by gradually changing
the ways in which we develop and use technology.
• Developing nations must be allowed to meet their
basic needs of employment, food, energy, water
and sanitation.
The ‘Rio’ Earth Summit 1992
•
The first ‘Earth Summit’ was attended by 108 heads of state
and 180 countries sent delegates
•
Produced a major 500-page action plan, Agenda 21- a morally
but not legally binding statement of goals and strategies for
government and business sectors
•
A number of other international agreements were made
including the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development
and the Convention on Biological Diversity
•
A follow up ‘Earth Summit +5’ in New York (1997) expressed
‘deep concern’ that overall trends were worse than in 1992
World Summit on
Sustainable Development
2002 (Johannesburg)
• A decade after Rio most people agreed that
progress did not match expectations
• 100 world leaders addressed the WSSD and 193
countries were represented.
• WSSD achieved a universal reaffirmation of
Agenda 21 plus the eight Millennium Goals set by
the UN
WSSD commits the UK to
the following:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Minimise adverse effects of chemicals on human health
and environment by 2020
Provide reliable and affordable energy services
Halve proportion of people without access to drinking
water and basic sanitation by 2015
Significantly reduce rate of biodiversity loss by 2010
Restore depleted fish stocks by 2015
More sustainable patterns of consumption and
production
Urge countries to ratify the Kyoto protocol
Urgently and substantially increase global use of
renewable energy; increase energy efficiency
Local Government in
Scotland Act 2003
“It is the duty of a local authority to make
arrangements which secure best value
[and] the local authority shall discharge its
duties under [best value] in a way which
contributes to the achievement of
Sustainable Development”
ie. By addressing the UK / Scottish priorities
for sustainable development we can
achieve Best Value.
2006: National Priorities
•
UK Sustainable Development Strategy and UK Shared
Strategic Framework for Sustainable Development
guide Sustainable Development in the UK
•
The UK Sustainable Development Strategy ‘Securing
the Future’ covers England and all non devolved issues
•
The Scottish Executive Sustainable Development
Strategy will guide Scottish policy and action
UK Strategic Framework to 2020
UK Government Welsh
Strategy
Assembly
Action Plan
Scottish
Executive
Strategy
Northern
Ireland Strategy
Strategic Framework –
Shared Priorities for UK
Action
Sustainable Consumption and
Production
-impacts of materials across
whole lifecycle
-a resource efficient economy
Climate Change and Energy
-Mitigation: “profound change in
the way we generate and use
energy”
-Adaptation: “we must prepare
for the climate change that
cannot now be avoided”
Natural Resource Protection
and Enhancement
- “A better understanding of
environmental limits,
environmental enhancement and
recovery”
- “A more integrated policy
framework”
Sustainable Communities
-Give communities more power
in the decisions that affect them
-Partnership working to get
things done
Choosing Our Future: Scotland’s
Sustainable Development Strategy
launched December 2005
Choosing Our Future – Some key priorities
•“Our vision is of a vibrant, low carbon economy
with Scotland a leader in green enterprise”
•Links the environment to providing the
conditions for health and well-being (emphasis
on role of greenspace)
•Emphasis on ‘well-connected places’ (connect
with each other / access to services)
•Stresses the importance of the Environmental
Information Regulations and regenerating most
deprived communities (Environmental Justice)
•Defines the role of public sector in sustainable
procurement
www.scotland.gov.uk/publications/2005/12/1493902/39032
Climate Change
The Greenhouse
Effect
The warmed surface of the earth
emits infrared (heat) energy. Some
some of this energy is absorbed by
greenhouse gasses in the
atmosphere. When this energy is
released it further warms the earth’s
surface and lower atmosphere.
Sun
Solar (ultraviolet) radiation
passes through the
atmosphere and some is
reflected by the earth and
the atmosphere (e.g from
clouds, icecaps). However
most of the radiation is
absorbed by the Earth’s
surface and warms it.
Earth
• Without the greenhouse effect Earth
would be 30 degrees C colder
• As greenhouse gasses exceed their
natural levels changes in climate could
affect our quality of life
• Key greenhouse gases include carbon
dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone
and a number of synthetic compounds
such as halocarbons
• Carbon dioxide levels are at their highest
level for 650,000 years (378ppm) and
predicted to rise to over 650 ppm by 2100.
Amazon dieback is predicted at 550 ppm.
Climate Change Scenarios
Increase in global
temperature 2080s
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
Te m p ris e C
low
High
Low = halving in CO2 by 2100
High = quadrupling atmospheric CO2
CO2 lifespan = 100 years in atmosphere
What will happen to Scotland?
• Even with low emissions average temperatures
across the UK are expected to rise by 2 Celsius by
2080
• Winter rainfall is expected to increase by between
10 and 35 percent, and ‘rain intensity’ will increase
too, leading to flooding
• ‘Storminess’ is expected to increase
• Summer rainfall may decrease
• Snowfall in the Scottish Highlands may decrease
by up to 60 percent
• Weather related insurance premiums are rising by
2 to 4 percent per year already
What can we do?
Mitigate the problem by reducing emissions of
Greenhouse Gases
The UK is committed by the Kyoto Protocol to reduce UK
greenhouse gas emissions by 12.5 percent between 2008
and 2012 (depending on the gas)
Adapt to the effects of the climate change we have
already caused
The climate change of the next three decades is already
determined. We need to reduce risks.
How will Climate Change Affect my Service?
Local Authority
Service
Potential impacts
of climate change
Mitigation
response
Adaptation
response
Health and Social
Services
Higher risk of skin
cancer due to hotter
summers
-Reduce paper
waste
-Reduce mileage of
staff by promoting
use of car sharing
-Consider ways to
increase awareness
of danger to
exposure.
-Work with planning
to provide more
shade in
recreational areas
Environmental
Health
Higher
temperatures
increase cases of
food poisoning
-produce guidance
on energy efficient
refrigeration for
small businesses
-Increase public
awareness of food
hygiene.
Greenspace
Management
Increase in season
of growth of grass
verges due to
warmer winters
-Consider
alternative fuels for
vehicles and
mowing equipment
-Revise
maintenance
schedules and
ensure resources
are available to
meet change
Source: UKCIP
Website
home/site directory/environment/green living
www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/green/index.asp