27th January 2023
Support climate adaptation projects at home and overseas
The Grantham Institute explains adaptation thus:
“Humans have been adapting to their environments throughout history by developing practices, cultures and livelihoods suited to local conditions – from the Mediterranean siesta to the Vietnamese practice of building homes on stilts to protect against monsoonal rains. However, climate change raises the possibility that existing societies will experience climatic shifts (in temperature, storm frequency, flooding and other factors) that previous experience has not prepared them for. As average global temperatures rise, the impacts of climate change and their associated losses and damage are likely to increase more rapidly and more unpredictably.
“Adaptation seeks to reduce the risks posed by climate changes, and to benefit from any associated opportunities where possible. It is one of two main policy responses to climate change, the other being mitigation – reducing greenhouse gas emissions to address the root causes. Both approaches are necessary because even if emissions are dramatically decreased over the coming decade, further warming is now unavoidable and adaptation will be needed to deal with the climatic changes already set in motion.” https://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/explainers/what-is-climate-change-adaptation/
In the UK, adaptation could include insulating buildings so they stay warmer in winter and cooler in summer; planting more trees to provide shade and cooling in summer and to trap rain water to limit flooding; restoring and creating new peat bogs and wetlands areas again to absorb excess water (and carbon too); re-wilding rivers and restoring water meadows to absorb and slow the rate of flow of water to prevent flooding; changing the school timetable and working day to allow people to rest during the middle of the day during heat waves and to work instead in the cooler hours earlier in the day – a siesta; not building on flood plains or close to the coast where rising water levels present a risk; relocating buildings and contents which are at risk of flood damage; growing plants more suited to our new climate including agriculture crops; making good use of solar and wind energy.
As a rich nation we need to help less affluent – and often more critically affected – nations adapt to the changing climate. The options for adaptation will be similar in nature to those for the UK – insulating buildings to protect against extremes of heat; using vegetation and the restoration of natural habitats; adapting agricultural and work practices; harnessing renewable energy.
We can support adaptation projects with funds and/or volunteering with local projects; campaigning to support projects particularly when they are opposed by government or big business; providing funding for overseas projects through charities such as Practical Action and Oxfam, as well as pressing the government to contribute at the scale necessary to make a different and to reflect our moral obligations.
A diverse and wide reaching adaptation project local to where I live involves the re-wilding of strategic parts of the Thames which you can read about at length here – https://kts.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Rewilding-Arcadia-.pdf
On a smaller scale another project is in hand to rewild Beverley Brook to benefit biodiversity and to reduce the impact of flooding – https://barnescommon.org.uk/conservation/habitat-management/flood-resilience/
The Green Tau 