Climate_Change_Presentation (1).ppsx

Climate_Change_Presentation (1).ppsx

• 1.
  Midlothian Council &Climate Change To move forwardorback throughthis presentation,use the arrowkeyson your keyboard. Thisslide show will takeyou on a quickbut insightful walk-throughof: • A littleon the scienceof climatechange; • Some evidencethat human activitiesare causingit; • What MidlothianCouncil is doing in response; and • How you yourself can play your part, both as a Council employee and outside of work. There isa short exerciseatthe end. The whole course should takeless than 20minutes. Thankyou forcompleting it!
• 2.
  What is climatechange? It is caused by the ‘greenhouse effect’.This happensdue to interactionbetween energy from the sun, the Earth’s surface and ‘greenhouse gases’in the atmosphere. Sunlight reaches the Earth Some is reflected back into space But greenhouse gases in the atmosphere stop this reflection back into space Diagram: Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech
• 3.
  Is climate changereally happening, and if so, what is causing it? “But theEarth’sclimatehas alwayschangednaturallyinthe past– Idon’t thinkhuman activityisto blame now”. • The climate has always changed naturally in the past, but those have often been in response to predictable changes of the Earth’s orbit round the sun, and those changes have always been at a predictable pace. The change we are seeing now is unexpected and much quicker, so we know that the cause isn’t natural. • Past natural changes in the Earth’s climate have often also been due to the release of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide (CO2). Nowadays, human activities in sectors like transport and generating electricity are releasing these gases. In other words, humans are doing what we know from history has caused past changes in the Earth’s climate. In fact, CO2 from human activity is increasing more than 250 times faster than it did from natural sources after the lastIce Age.
• 4.
  Is climate changereally happening, and if so, what is causing it? We can see here for example, that world temperature mirrors the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. We can also see that solar activity has been steady over this period, so we know that this isn’t causing the temperature rise.
• 5.
  The impacts ofclimate change Temperaturerises– globally, the five warmest years on record have allbeen since 2015. All of the UK's ten warmest years on record have been since 2002. Moreextremeweather – warmer air can hold more water, so climatechange is expected to lead to more heavy rain in the UK and the rest of the world. It will also lead to more global heatwavesand droughts. Sea-levelrise– when our planet warms up, water in the ocean expands. Together with water running intooceans from melting iceand glaciers, this means that sea-levelsare increasing.Thisthreatens coastal and island communities. Oceanacidity– the oceans absorb much of the carbon dioxide that human activities release. Thismakes them turn more acidic,which threatens marine life. Images courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech Images courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech
• 6.
  Greenhouse gas emissions– by sector • Each year the Scottish Government collects data on greenhouse gas emissions by sector. The list of emissions is included in the Council’s Climate Change Strategy, which you will read about later in this presentation. The sectors with the highest emissions, and therefore those where we need to take urgent action are: • Transport - 31% of emissions; • Industry, includingenergy and waste – 22% of emissions; • Business– 20% of emissions; • Residential- 15% of emissions; and • Agriculture,forestry and related land use/land use change – 5% of emissions. • Reducing emissions across all these sectors will present significant challenges if the Council is to meet its ambitions. It will require organisational and personal behavioural change and for all of us to make decisions and choices whichreduce our carbon footprint.
• 7.
  MidlothianCouncil’s response toclimate change • A motion was passed at the Council meeting of December 2019 which declared a ‘climate emergency that requires urgent action’. • The motion set the goal of the Council’s activities being net-zero carbon by 2030. It stated that all strategic decisions,budgets and approaches to planningdecisionsshould be in line with thisgoal. • ‘Net-zero’ means that the Council must drastically cut its emissions and any it cannot cut must be offset by thingslike plantingtrees. • The motion means changesto how the Council operates, particularlyin certain departments: • Buildings& estates – usingless electricityand generating green electricityourselves; • Transport/fleet – moving from petrol and dieselvehiclesto electricvehicles; • Procurement – buying less carbon-intensive products and setting high environmental standards for the Council’s suppliers;and • Planning– promoting sustainable,low-carbon developments. • It will also involve personal action related to work, such as home working (to reduce the need to travel to work) or, where transport is needed, usinglow-carbon options for it, such as cycling or publictransport.
• 8.
  MidlothianCouncil’s response toclimate change • The Council approved a new Climate Change Strategy in August 2020. It translates the climate emergency declaration into specifictasksthat we need to do. • These tasks are contained in an ‘Action Plan’. This identifies Council departments that tasks apply to and a timetable for them to be implemented. • The Strategy proposes to create a Climate Change Board to oversee its implementation. This will be assisted by the recruitment of a dedicated ClimateChange Officer. • You can read the Climate Change Strategy and how your department can help achieveits goals by clickinghere.
• 9.
  MidlothianCouncil’s response toclimate change • The Council will measure progress in reducing its emissions through the PublicBodies Climate Change DutiesReporting. • This is a legally-required report for the Scottish Government produced every autumn using information requested from various Council services.It covers: • How much carbon the Council produces; • Projects to reduce our emissions;and • How addressing climate change is embedded in the Council’s management, various departments and policies. • It has shown that we have made good progress in reducing our emissions– we have cut them by 35% between 2014 and 2020. • However, many of the quick and easy ways to lower our emissionshave already been done.
• 10.
  Your own responseto climate change – at work & home Using the Council’s fleet of electricvehicleswill reduce emissions from business travel. There are facilitiesto help you cycle to work and for work trips – there is bike parking, shower and locker facilitiesand you can claim cycle mileage. You can recycle your food waste – it is used to generate green energy at the MillerhillDigester. Don’t leave equipment on stand-by – PC monitors left on stand-by stilluse around 15 to 20% of the electricitythey use normally.
• 11.
  Your own responseto climate change – at work & home • There are many stepsyou can take yourself in response to climate change. These are often easy, can save you money and can benefityour health. Examples include: • Some informationsourceson these actionsareprovidedon the next page. Walkingor cycling to work Using the bus insteadof the car Turningoff or turningdown radiators in rooms you use less often at home Switchingelectricalequipmentoff at the socket rather than leavingit on stand-by– you can get a ‘stand-by’saver whichallows you to turn them off all in one go Using low-energy lightbulbs such as LEDs Buying fewer products that involve ‘single-use plastic’, e.g. plastic cutlery, cups and cup lids, and polystyrene food and drink containers Buying locally-made goods and produce to reduce your ‘food miles’
• 12.
  Your own responseto climate change – at work & home • You can calculate your own carbon footprint on the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) website - https://footprint.wwf.org.uk/#/ • You can get a bike through the ‘Cycle to Work’ salary sacrifice scheme and make tax and National Insurance savings– https://www.cyclesolutions.info/midlothian • The Energy Saving Trust have lots of easy to follow, practical information on how to save energy and reduce your emissions: • Easy ways to save energy at home – https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/home-energy-efficiency • How to insulateyour home to save energy and money- https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/home-insulation • Ways you can generate your own green energy- https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/renewable-energy • For staff, the Council Intranet has further information on how to increase the amount you recycle - http://intranet/Council/minisites/MiniSite02.asp?siteid=22
• 13.
  Exercise questions • Therewill now be a short exerciseon what you havejust read. • There are5 multiple-choice questions.Use yourmouseto select your answer.
• 14.
  Question 1 Regardingcarbondioxide(CO2),whichone ofthefollowingfourstatementsiscorrect? Clickon an answerbox below. D - It stops the sun’s energy escaping back to space, which warms up the Earth. C - The levelof carbon dioxide (CO2) in the Earth’s atmosphere has remained stablein recent decades. B - It is only released from natural sources, not human activities. A - It stops the sun’s energy reachingthe Earth’s surface, whichcools our planet. Correct Incorrect Incorrect Incorrect Clickhereto go to thenextquestion
• 15.
  Question 2 Globally,thefivewarmestyearson recordhaveallbeenrecordedsincewhen? D - Since2005 C - Since1915 B - Since2015 A - Since1995 Incorrect Incorrect Correct Incorrect Clickhereto go to thenextquestion
• 16.
  Question 3 Whichof thefollowingisthemainaimoftheCouncil’sclimateemergencydeclaration? D – The Council should only use electricityfrom a net-zero carbon supplier. C – Allthe Council’sactivitiesshould be net-zero carbon by 2030. B – Certain Council departments should eventually be net-zero carbon. A - The Council should reduce itsemissions as much as possible by 2030. Incorrect Correct Incorrect Incorrect Clickhereto go to thenextquestion
• 17.
  Question 4 A legally-requiredreport for the Scottish Government, produced every autumn using information requested from various Council serviceson how much carbon we release. Thisdocument translatesthe Council’s climateemergency declarationinto specifictasks that we need to do. These are contained in an ‘ActionPlan’ whichidentifiesCouncil departments that tasks apply to and a timetablefor them to be implemented. Incorrect – the top box describes the Public Bodies Climate ChangeDuties Reporting. The bottom box describes Midlothian Council’s new ClimateChangeStrategy. Whichoneof thefollowingstatementsdescribestheCouncil’snewClimateChangeStrategy? Clickhereto go to thenextquestion Correct – the top box describes thePublic Bodies Climate ChangeDuties Reporting. The bottom box describes Midlothian Council’s new ClimateChangeStrategy. Clickhereto goto thenextquestion
• 18.
  Question 5 Whichof thefollowingisthebestwaytoreduceyourcarbonfootprintat work? A – By usingthe Council’s fleetof electricvehiclesinstead of your own petrol or dieselcar. B – By not leavingelectricalequipment on stand-by mode. C – By recyclingyour food waste so it can be converted into green energy at the MillerhillDigester. D – By doing allof the above. Correct Incorrect Incorrect Incorrect Clickhereto goto thenextslide
• 19.
  Climate change pledge •TheCouncil is encouragingeveryone who viewsthis presentationto makea personal pledgeto combat climatechange: What will yours be? • Help encourageothers to takepartby sharingyourefforts morewidely: Send detailsto [email protected] (andcopy in [email protected])