LCCP news April 2018
TEP/LCCP Workshop: Adaptation in the River Environment On April 16, TEP and LCCP joined forces to host a workshop for stakeholders interested in the sustainability and prosperity of the Thames. Kristen gave an overview and introduction to adaptation, James Trimmer talked about the PLA's experience and learning from adaptation reporting, Katy Francis from EA described the TE2100 plan and its monitoring framework, Steve Colclough from the Institute for Fisheries Management explained how changing water temperature is affecting fish populations, and Raymond Hall presented a vision for a more water-friendly East London. A report and presentations will be available soon on the TEP website.
Earth Observation and Climate Change Policy Formulation and Monitoring for Cities On February 13, the Space4Climate group partnered with LCCP to explore how Earth Observation (EO) could be used to support and develop sector-led approaches to climate resilience and adaptation planning in London. The workshop brought 33 professionals from across the research, industry, policy, and third sector communities. The structure included a series of presentations, providing an overview of the Space4Climate group, the LCCP sector-based approach to city resilience, current examples of EO supporting global indicators through to more localised management including how EO analytical tools can support city resilience. Audio recordings of the keynote speakers, slides and an event report are available here.
Climate Just Re-Launch. The new updated Climate Just web tool was launched at an event hosted by LCCP in London's Living Room in February. The morning panel discussion considered what tackling climate justice means in 2018, with University of Manchester researchers providing context for the project and Marc Beveridge and Kristen bringing the London perspective. The afternoon was dedicated to a hands-on session exploring the features of the updated tool, including future flood scenarios.
London Community Resilience Workshop On March 9, the London Resilience Partnership held a workshop designed to develop the foundations of a community resilience initiative for London. Delegates from business, faith, voluntary, local government, emergency services, academic, and health sectors were asked to discuss three topics:
What does community resilience mean to you?
What are you currently doing in this space?
What opportunities exist to enhance activity and make better use of resources?
The event was introduced by John Barradell (CEO of the City of London Corporation), Steve Hamm (Head of Programme for the LRF), Kim Bromley-Derry (Chief Executive of LB Newham and Chair of the London Community Resilience Steering Group) and Dr Fiona Twycross AM (Chair of the LRF and newly appointed Mayoral advisor for fire and resilience). The speakers stressed the importance of community leadership, helping each other and engaging in joint working. Signs of success identified were making friends, learning from each other, initiating joint working and supporting the steering group. A full report will be available soon.
The Next Phase of UKCP18: Testing and Evaluation The first sets of new climate change projections are set to emerge this spring, and the UKCP18 team will be turning its attention to testing and evaluating the delivery systems, including the website, reports, data access, and guidance. Climate science and data sets will be further analysed so that when the core data set is made public in November, it will be well evaluated and accompanied by interpretation and guidance to support its use.
Resilience First In May, London First will be launching its new Resilience First initiative, which will create an exchange of influential leaders who can improve urban resilience in local areas (business districts) in order to make London better prepared to resist disruptions and more agile in coping with future challenges. Resilience First's objectives include providing leadership and dialogue, promoting enablers of resilience, creating a channel to market for providers and services, facilitating access to advice, and benchmarking resilience through data collection and analytics. Contact Robert for more information.
Water Resource Management Planning Thames Water's draft WRMP and Business Plan are out to consultation until April 29. Find more information here and here. In August 2018 they will publish a report setting out the comments received and explaining how they have been taken into account. Comments received about water resource matters will be taken into account in the water plan, which will be revised and sent to Defra for consideration and approval.
Affinity Water's WRMP and related documents can be found here. Their consultation runs until May 23.
Gardening in a Changing Climate The RHS, LCCP, Institute for Environmental Analytics, the GLA, and London Sustainability Exchange have set up a working group to explore how the guidance in the RHS Gardening in a Changing Climate report could be used alongside earth observation data as the basis to promote better use of London's gardens and outdoor spaces.
City Risk Index Update In 2015 Lloyds launched the City Risk Index 2015-25, which presented the first ever analysis of the economic output at risk (GDP@Risk) in 301 major cities from 18 man-made and natural threats over a ten-year period. The project is currently being refreshed with more accessible and interactive outputs, and ill include the latest available data and an expanded list of scenarios. A launch is planned for early June. If you'd like to attend, get in touch with Lucy.
Green Finance Taskforce Report The recommendations of the Green Finance Taskforce have been published. Among them were climate change adaptation and resilience-related themes, including
Improve climate risk management with advanced data and analytics
Implement the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) and ensure that disclosing material environmental risks is mandatory under existing law and practice.
Other areas of the financial services sector are also discussing the Taskforce recommendations. The Space4Climate group attended the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) breakfast briefing with Russell Picot, Special Advisor to the Task Force and Louise Pryor, Chair of the IFoA's Resource and Environment Board. Event details and programme here.
Draft Revised National Planning Policy Framework The new draft NPPF is out to consultation until May 10. Section 14 covers meeting the challenge of climate change, flooding, and coastal change. Find the consultation draft and supporting documents here
Data Tree Filming is taking place for the Institute for Environmental Analytics' (IEA) new data management training course. Content will go live online this summer with a series of regional face-to-face workshops to pilot the material, including at the Institute of Physics in London on June 29th. Eight key data modules will cover subjects ranging from data ethics to engaging with businesses. Aimed at PhD students and post-doctoral early career researchers in environmental science fields, the course will deliver training in data management best practice and stakeholder communication skills. It is funded through the National Environmental Research Council (NERC) by the National Productivity Investment Fund as part of the UK's Industrial Strategy and calls on experts from the IEA, University of Reading, University of Oxford, the Digital Curation Centre, the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and Stats4SD.
Satellite project to help target flood forecasting The UK Space Agency has announced over £70,000 funding for eight new projects as part of the UK Space Agency's Space for Smarter Government Programme, to demonstrate the potential of using satellite technology to solve challenges faced by the public sector. Among the winning project is one on AI Satellite Pluvial flood forecasting, by the GLA and Ambiental Environmental Assessment Ltd.
Minimising Climate Risks Space4Climate group attended the Royal Meteorological Society's meeting "Minimising climate change," which took stock of scientific progress since the last IPCC report and reviewed options for avoiding dangerous climate change and what actions key countries are taking. Speakers included eminent scientists, a co-chair of the IPCC, experts from the private sector and the BEIS Minister of State, Claire Perry MP
Space4Climate at Ecobuild The Space4Climate group showcased use of EO technology by researchers from the National Centre of Earth Observation on the Innovation stand area at Ecobuild. Ecology and engineering consultancies and local authority policy makers were interested in the use of EO for biodiversity net gain monitoring, biomass mapping and monitoring and vegetation health
ESRC Climate Change Priority Town Hall The recent Space4Climate workshop on Earth Observation and cities flagged the need for social geo-referenced datasets which could be combined with EO data to understand impacts of climate-related interventions, particularly on social resilience and vulnerability. The ESRC has now announced the first investments under this climate change priority as a £5m Climate Change Centre (starting in April 2019) and a £3m Climate Change Network Plus (starting in January 2019). The Space4Climate group was awarded a place at a meeting in Birmingham for interested applicants and consortium building on the 19th April. More information here.
About Drought Datasets Showcase A number of significant new datasets to support drought and water scarcity decision-making were enthusiastically received at the showcase on March 14, presented by the RCUK Drought & Water Scarcity Programme. They include:
Historic Droughts Standardised Precipitation Index grids from 1862
Historic Droughts daily PET grids from 1891
Historic Droughts reconstructed flows for catchments from 1891
Historic Droughts Standardised Streamflow Index for catchments from 1891
See more information here, here, and here.
Forward Look
for more information about any events, contact Kristen unless otherwise specified.
3: How to Save the World: the War on Plastics. The Royal Institution, the How-To Academy, and the New York Times will host an evening conference on saving the planet from plastic. Book here.
10: Mapping Climate Disadvantage for London's Care Provision The UCL Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering will lead a session for built environment, spatial analysis, and public health experts to share their knowledge and map key priority areas for future work. Find out more and register here.
22-23: GeoBusiness gives delegates the chance to find out about the latest developments in geospatial technology, practice, and application. Space4Climate will have a stand, and there will be talks and workshops on climate resilience.
4-6: Climate services communication training course, Oxford: The Institute for Environmental Analytics is offering networking and sponsorship opportunities at this event. Delegates from ERA4CS projects across Europe, organised by JPI Climate, will be coming together to focus on skills in communication with non-technical audiences. To find out more email Sally Stevens.
12: Heat Risk in London group. Discussion of the Urban Albedo project , the GLA's Green Infrastructure Focus Map, .
18-21 Adaptation Futures 2018, Cape Town. The world's premier climate change adaptation conference brings together some 1000 scientists, practitioners, business leaders, and policy makers from around the world. Space4Climate group will have a stand and will run a session in partnership with Acclimatise on "Earth observation data for risk management and resilience building." If you are attending or have a case study involving use of EO data, let Briony know.
29: DataTree workshop at Institute of Physics to pilot material for the new data management training course (see update above).