Month: June 2021

Climate training available for all County Council staff and Members

CAfS are delighted to be working in partnership with Cumbria County Council to deliver climate and carbon literacy training to 550 of their staff and elected members.

All elected representatives, senior managers and extended leadership team are able to book a place on either a full day, accredited climate and carbon literacy training course, a 90 minute ‘Climate Science and Solutions for Cumbria’ overview or a 30 minute climate coffee break chat. Places are also available for any interested staff across the organisation.

The uptake so far has been fantastic with an inspiring number of council staff eager to learn more about how to serve Cumbria’s ambitious sustainability goals.

If you are an officer or member of CCC, please take a look at your learning pages to book a place or contact [email protected] to hear more. There are limited spaces left so book yours ASAP!

Assistant Director Environment and Enterprise Allan Harty said: ‘CAfS has delivered the training in a really engaging way to staff from across a diverse range of services and our Members. I have received brilliant feedback about delivery and the subject matter. I get a sense those who attended now have a really good understanding of Climate Change and Science and are energised to take this learning into their professional and personal lives.

‘I want to thank CAfS for agreeing to partner with us to deliver what is a vitally important area of learning for our workforce’.

Please spread the word about this offer to all Cumbria County Council staff and members that you know.

Some of our activities are funded by the National Lottery Community Fund and are part of the Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership’s ambitious emission reduction programme to make Cumbria carbon neutral by 2037.

The Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership brings together over 70 organisations in the public, private, and third sectors and is jointly chaired by CAfS and Cumbria County Council.

To achieve its goal, the partnership will be delivering a range of projects and activities, many of which have been inspired and developed by local communities. A number of these community-led projects and activities, including (the name of your project/organisation), have been made possible by a £2.5 million grant from the National Lottery Community Fund.

For more information about the Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership, go to Zero Carbon Cumbria Programme – CAfS

30 June 2021
Growing the sustainability network

On June 22^nd representatives from the Cumbria Sustainability Network came together for a virtual discussion on how to take their work forward and build a strong community of groups and individuals working across the county to raise awareness of the climate emergency and to take practical action to reduce carbon emissions in their area.

Resources are available to support the development of the Cumbria Sustainability Network as part of National Lottery investment in the Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership. The Network is an informal group of community-based organisations whose mission is to promote environmental sustainability. Members include Ambleside Action for a Future, PACT (Penrith Action for Community Transition), South Lakes Action on Climate Change, Sustainable Brampton, Carlisle, Keswick, Staveley and many more.

Cumbria Sustainability Network Coordinator and CAfS team-member, Helen Attewell, said ‘There is an inspirational range of expertise and experience amongst current Sustainability Network members. By working together across the county, sustainability groups and organisations can share learning and good practice, and become a strong voice for communities seeking urgent action on climate change. We welcome new members and I would encourage you to get involved.

‘The Cumbria Sustainability Network would like to hear from any new or existing groups who are not currently connected into our communications, or interest from individuals hoping to start a group in their area. Support and advice is available to help new groups get off the ground, and we may be able to put you in touch with others in your locality.’

Please get in touch with [email protected] if you would like to join the network mailing list, or if you would like some support on getting started / developing a new project.

29 June 2021
Announcing Great Big Green week!

Ahead of November’s crucial COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, communities across the UK will join together for the Great Big Green Week, organised by The Climate Coalition. The festival takes place during 18th – 26th September, and aims to be the largest event for climate and nature ever seen in the UK. Everyone’s invited!

COP26 has already been delayed by a year due to the pandemic. It’s being billed as a pivotal moment in the fight against runaway climate change, at the start of what is a critical decade for our planet.

The run-up to this year’s summit is the key period when countries update their plans for reducing emissions, which need to go much further than even the commitments made at the historic Paris summit in 2015, to retain any hope of limiting global temperature rises to 1.5 deg C.

During Great Big Green Week community hubs will celebrate local activity, raise the profile of climate change, and show why it is so relevant to local communities and decisionmakers. It will also call on politicians to raise their ambition and champion urgent action on climate change.

A growing number of organisations across Cumbria are already keen to mark the lead-up to COP, by running their own events and campaigns to raise awareness about what’s at stake.

CAfS is inviting members of the Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership and the Cumbria Sustainability Network to align relevant events and communications with the Great Big Green Week, which together we can then use to generate a real buzz around Cumbria, showcasing great examples of positive grassroots action.

There’s loads for us to celebrate right across Cumbria, whether that’s community energy schemes, food growing, tree planting, repair and reuse initiatives such as Repair Cafes, arts & culture projects, green building, youth campaigning, and much much more.

In these challenging times, events and campaigns can be either online, or a cautious return to carefully-planned physical events for those who feel able to do so.

If you or your organisation are planning to run an event in Cumbria as part of Great Big Green Week then we’d love to hear from you! Contact [email protected] to find out how you can get involved.

29 June 2021
Over 9,000 new chargepoints may be needed for Cumbria by 2030
A new study by Cumbria Action for Sustainability has found that an estimated 70 public chargepoints would need to be installed every month for the next 9 1/2 years in Cumbria to meet expected demand for electric vehicles by residents and tourists.

CAfS undertook the complex task of forecasting the potential demand for publicly accessible chargepoints across Cumbria by 2030, as a partner in a project to install community-owned chargepoints across the north of England, led by Charge My Street and funded by Innovate UK.

Nigel Jenkins from our EV team created the report, with peer support from several sustainable transport specialists.

Download the full report below:

Electric Vehicle Charging Deployment in Cumbria – Analysis & Forecasting

Here are a few of the key take-aways from the report, which show the need for all sorts of sectors in Cumbria – from businesses and local authorities to the tourism sector – to start driving a rapid increase in the county’s EV infrastructure. These should be viewed bearing in mind that forecasting 9.5 years into the future is an extremely complex business, especially in a sector that is rapidly evolving. Nevertheless, the following findings should make all stakeholders consider the implications for their organisation, stakeholders and customers alike:

As of May 2021, Zap-Map listings include 139 chargepoint locations / 259 connectors currently in Cumbria.

It is a likely requirement that by 2030 between 2,100 and 6,400 public chargepoints will be needed to service residents’ needs in Cumbria.

Meanwhile each year the number of visitors to Cumbria in peak times adds up to 50% to our population (even more so in certain honeypots) and many of these visitors will, in future, travel to the county by EV.

It is not unreasonable (even as a conservative forecast) that the above projections for public chargepoints should therefore be increased by at least 50% to service visitors’ charging needs…..so between 3,150 and 9,600 public chargepoints by 2030.

Cumbria must also fully consider servicing the charging needs for the commercial sector and for through traffic, including major arterial routes such as the M6 / A66 / A69.

These forecasts suggest that, using a mid figure, 70 new chargepoints could need to be installed every month for the next 9 ½ years to 2030 (as an indication of the current rate of expansion of the public charging network in Cumbria, in the 5 months to May-21 there were just 32 chargepoint connectors added on Zap-Map listings).

These forecasts must be seen as indications of orders of magnitude, not as absolute values.

Few public organisations have set any of their own targets, and those that have are significantly underestimating the demand.

A range of significant implications follow these forecasts, including: meeting the county’s climate change targets; electricity supply capacity; co-ordination and interoperability of charging systems; social inclusion; tourism management; planning policies; logistics for business, public bodies and emergency services; training, skills and employment; and the capacity to install, operate and maintain a public charging network at the scale needed.

Currently the expansion of the charging network is largely market driven, and it is very clear that without appropriate intervention there are risks that people, communities and business may inadvertently be left marginalised or even excluded from the switch to electric transport.

CAfS hopes that the report will support those planning for Cumbria’s future, but in tandem with redoubled efforts to reduce private car use wherever possible and encourage the use of other modes of sustainable transport.
29 June 2021
Partnership to Galvanise Green Investments for Cumbria Launches

A new and innovative green investment plan for Cumbria is being developed by a consortium of local and national partners. The plan will enhance the county’s competitiveness nationally, benefit the county’s economy, boost employment opportunities and help tackle climate change.

The investment plan will identify a set of iconic projects across Cumbria in sectors such as energy generation, transport, agriculture and waste management, along with exploring the sources of finance required from institutional investors, banks, public finance and community funding institutions. Key partners involved include Grantham Research Institute of the LSE, the multinational engineering and design company Arup, local charity Cumbria Action for Sustainability (CAfS) and local consultancy EdenWorks Green. The project is also collaborating closely with Friends of the Earth, Cumbria Local Economic Partnership (LEP), local authorities, utilities, businesses, NGOs, community groups and residents who will also help develop the plan.

Professor Nick Robins of Grantham Research Institute and project chair said: “More and more banks and investors recognise the opportunity of investing in green projects and for good returns from supporting climate friendly projects. This project will highlight Cumbria’s significant green economy potential and will bring together a range of investable projects that will work for the Cumbrian people.”

Project lead, Ciara Shannon of EdenWorks Green, said: “Cumbria’s outstanding mix of natural assets and workforce skills makes its potential to reduce carbon emissions unprecedented. To fully capitalise on this potential, we need a joined-up investing strategy which can unleash a wave of green investments and employment possibilities.”

Michael Osborne, Director of Arup, said: “Cumbria’s potential for generating green electricity is massive. For example, the county could produce green hydrogen from wind energy quite quickly. Investment in Cumbria’s net-zero energy system needs to start as soon as possible. This innovative plan will attract vital climate finance in Cumbria’s future.”

Karen Mitchell, CEO of Cumbria Action for Sustainability (CAfS), said: “We are delighted to be the NGO partner on this project. Our ‘Potential for green jobs in Cumbria’ report earlier in the year showed that investments of £8.88 billion could put in place measures to reduce Cumbria’s carbon emissions to reach net zero, create thousands of jobs and deliver big savings on energy bills for businesses. This work will help to make that vision a reality.”

Chief Executive of Cumbria LEP, Jo Lappin, said: “Cumbria LEP is fully committed to achieving a net zero Cumbria at the earliest opportunity through supporting clean energy generation and helping our businesses to decarbonise. The green investment plan can clearly help to deliver on these priorities alongside supporting wider clean energy initiatives. Cumbria has the potential to make a significant national contribution to clean energy generation based on our nuclear, advanced manufacturing, offshore wind and renewable capability, alongside outstanding natural capital, which has allowed our visitor economy, agricultural sector and food production to flourish. The green investment plan will help us to deliver major green projects and create substantial new job opportunities.”

The investment plan will be published in November 2021 and is intended to lead to significant new funding coming into the county from a host of different sources.

17 June 2021