News

A community group in Ambleside with a goal for the town to become net zero carbon had a major boost in May after South Lakeland District Council announced a package of support. Thanks to the council’s funding, CAfS will work alongside the Ambleside Action for a Future group to help them decide on a programme of actions to reduce carbon emissions. Announcing the support at a meeting in the town on 20th May, Councillor Dyan Jones, the council’s portfolio holder for climate emergency and localism, said: "Wise and prudent spending at South Lakeland District Council means we are able [...]

The Environment Agency has called for spending of around £1 billion a year on flood adaptation, with a warning that some communities may need to move because of the risk of floods. The story has been widely reported in the media today, as the Agency launches a new consultation on its flood strategy. We agree with calls by Emma Howard Boyd, chair of the Environment Agency, for more funding for flood management and with the Agency’s assessment of the scale of adaptation that’s needed, but the UK must take urgent action to cut carbon emissions so that we can [...]

We’re thrilled to announce our headline sponsor for this year’s Cumbria Green Build and Sustainable Living Festival. Electricity North West will be supporting our flagship annual programme of events, now in its 14th year. It’s a key year for our region’s electricity network operator, following the launch of its new plan to help the North West to decarbonise and pave the way for the growth of renewable energy. “From electric vehicles to renewable energy, Electricity North West has such a crucial part to play in the drive towards a zero carbon Cumbria, so we are delighted to be working [...]

Congratulations to our trustee Mike Berners-Lee on the publication of his new book, There is No Planet B: A Handbook for the Make or Break Years. The book is a superb overview of the big picture of climate change: what’s going on and what is required for humans to thrive in the Anthropocene – the epoch of human dominance on the planet. It strikes a great balance between being accessible and entertaining whilst being serious and robust. Mike deftly brings together the multi-disciplinary global perspective with the practicalities of who can do what to bring about the system changes [...]

Senior leaders from key organisations in Cumbria have met at the county’s first leaders’ summit on climate change, to plan how they can play their part in tackling climate change. The 27 CEOs and chairs from businesses, local authorities and the voluntary sector acknowledged climate change as a key issue demanding urgent action. They outlined their organisations’ ambitions and high-level targets for reducing carbon emissions, and agreed to develop a coordinated Cumbria-wide approach. “There was a phenomenal response to the summit,” said Hazel Graham, chief executive of CAfS, who organised and chaired the event on behalf of the Lake [...]

Ninety young people and their teachers from thirty Cumbrian schools came together in April for the county's first youth summit on climate change. Organised by the head teacher from Robert Ferguson School in Carlisle, it was a moving and uplifting event that gave young people a chance to voice their concerns about climate change and other environmental issues. CAfS chief executive Hazel Graham went along to take part in a question panel and to listen to young people’s views and the actions they want to see. “It’s so obvious that young people have a good grasp of the science [...]