West Sussex County Council has been working on reducing our own carbon emissions and energy use for some time and recently passed a motion declaring our commitment, however, there is more we could do to prepare ourselves for the challenges and opportunities that climate change will bring to West Sussex.
What does climate change mean for West Sussex?
By 2050, West Sussex is likely to experience:
- an increase in summer temperatures
- current heatwaves becoming the normal temperature. Future heatwaves will be much more extreme
- less rain during summer months but sharp heavy downpours when it does rain, putting more pressure on our drainage system and leading to flooding
- warmer winters but with more rain and more frequent storm events
- sea level rise along our coast.
Actions to take
There are two main ways to deal with climate change:
1. Reducing carbon emissions from the Council’s own operations, services and the local community (mitigation).
2. Strengthening the resilience of local services and local communities to extreme weather (adaptation). This means not only protecting against negative impacts, but also making us better able to take advantage of any benefits.
The West Sussex Plan commits us to increasing the amount of renewable energy we produce and our Energy Team is working hard to develop more solar energy opportunities. We are committed to reducing the amount of carbon related to our activities and we are developing an electric vehicle strategy. Alongside these activities we are looking at the way we deliver our services to ensure that we are more resilient for the future.
Councillors signed the Climate Change Pledge Board at Full Council on 5th April and we would encourage residents to take action themselves. Some examples are:
- Use a water butt & watering can in the garden
- Only start your washing machine or dishwasher with a full load
- Walk or cycle short distances
- Leave the car at home and use alternative transport
- Car share when you can
- Buy local/seasonal produce
- Plan meals and use up leftovers
- Use a refillable cup; sign up to #Refill
- Pull curtains when it’s hot and sunny to keep rooms cool
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Where you can, plant for shade
Joy Dennis – County Councillor
