Climate Change

View of Earth from space

What is the Council doing about climate change?

Signing the Nottingham Declaration The Nottingham Declaration on Climate Change was signed by the Leader and Chief Executive of Bracknell Forest Borough Council on 27 February 2007. The Declaration committed us as follows:

“Within the next two years develop plans with our partners and local communities to progressively address the causes and the impacts of climate change, according to local priorities, securing maximum benefit for our communities”

Our first climate change action plan focuses mainly on short term actions that the Council can implement internally. We have, however, included some actions that our partners from the statutory, business, voluntary and community sectors can support through the Bracknell Forest Partnership and in their own organisations.

The aims of our climate change action plan are:

To reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the Council’s own operations, especially, energy sourcing and use, travel and transport, waste production and disposal, and the purchase of goods and services.
To implement policies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the Borough.
To provide focus for climate change leadership in the Borough.
To highlight and support complimentary strategies and plans in the Borough such as those that relate to waste & recycling, transport, housing development
To encourage members of the Bracknell Forest Partnership and other local organisations to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
To prepare for the impacts of climate change.
To demonstrate the economic, social and environmental benefits of tackling climate change.
To change attitudes and behaviour towards the use of natural resources, particularly fossil fuels.

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Consultation on the Council's Climate Change Action Plan

The Climate Change Action Plan was approved for implementation at an executive meeting of the Council on 21 October 2008. The initial action plan covers a three-year time frame from 2008 to 2011. This will be reviewed and updated annually as new information becomes available and new targets are set to address the causes and impacts of climate change.

Climate Change Action Plan (218kb)

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What is climate change?

South Hill Park Lake Climate refers to the average weather experienced over a long period of time. This includes temperature, wind and rainfall patterns. The Earth’s climate is not static, and has changed many times in response to a variety of natural causes. Climate change is generally used when referring to changes in our climate that have been identified since the early part of the 1900s. The Earth has warmed 0.74°C over the last hundred years. About 0.4°C of this warming has occurred since the 1970s. The changes we've seen over recent years and those that are predicted over the next 80 years are thought to be mainly as a result of human behaviour rather than natural changes in the atmosphere. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, global temperatures are predicted to rise by between 1.4 and 5.8°C over the next century. This is caused by greenhouse gases released in the atmosphere. The global and local effects will vary considerably as the Earth possesses many climatic systems.

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What laws and polices exist?

Under the Kyoto Protocol, by 2008-2012 the UK must reduce its baseline emissions of six major greenhouse gases by 12.5 per cent from a baseline target set in 1990. The UK government has also set a target to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to 20 per cent beneath that baseline. The long term goal is to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions by 60% by 2050.

View Defra's website for more information about international and national action on climate change.

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Why is climate change happening?

The Earth receives solar radiation from the Sun. Most of these rays are reflected by the Earth’s atmosphere but some rays are absorbed into the atmosphere and the Earth. When the Earth heats up, it releases infrared radiation (heat). The infrared that does get through the atmosphere is absorbed by the greenhouse gases (water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, ozone, and nitrous oxide). Essentially CO₂ and various other gases wrap the Earth in an invisible blanket helping to prevent heat from escaping. This is called the Greenhouse Effect. If there was too little the planet would be as cold as Mars, too much and the planet would be as hot as Venus. Our moderate temperatures are the result of having just the right kind of atmosphere and the distance from the sun.

Visit the Energy Saving Trust website for a visual explanation of climate change.

The Greenhouse Effect is being accelerated by burning more fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) that in turn produce greenhouse gases - in particular carbon dioxide (CO₂). This has increased the heating effect of the blanket trapping more of the Sun's energy inside our atmosphere. In turn, the Earth's temperature has increased more rapidly in a shorter period of time than it has for thousands of years. Although cars contribute, more CO₂ comes from the energy we use at home. The average household creates around 6 tonnes of CO₂ a year. It is this that is changing our climate and damaging the environment. In 2005, total UK CO₂ emissions were almost 554 million tonnes. 27% (153 million tonnes) of those emissions came from the energy we use to heat, light and power our homes. Our transport emissions caused by passenger cars, buses and mopeds and motorcycles account for a further 15% (85 million tonnes) of CO₂ emissions.

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What can you do?

It’s actually very easy to make many simple changes that together have a big impact. For example, if everyone turned their thermostats down by just 1°C, total domestic emissions in the UK would reduce by about 4.5% according to the Energy Saving Trust. The average householder could also pocket about £30 in energy bill savings at the same time.

There are many ways in which you can do you bit for the planet. Please use the links below to find out more.

Eco-Schools

Thousands of schools around the world are involved in making the world a more sustainable place in which to live. In England, the Eco-Schools programme is administered by ENCAMS. For more information about this programme, please visit the Eco-Schools website or go to www.eco-schools.net to find out which schools are involved and to register your school. If you would like to get involved in the Eco-Schools programme in Bracknell Forest, contact Rehan Yunus, the Council's Eco-Schools Co-ordinator, on 01344 352000 or via email rehan.yunus@bracknell-forest.gov.uk. Please note that anyone working with schools will need to undergo a CRB check. Information about environmental management in schools is available on the Planning and Property page in the schools section.