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New London Architecture has just launched a major Report which highlights the measures that are needed to make London a zero carbon city

Cities are responsible for 70% of carbon emissions globally. The Report outlines the results of a survey of barriers to reducing carbon emissions, some of the most significant being UK policy and regulations, lack of access to green finance, lack of common standards and benchmarks for carbon emissions as well as lack of skills and knowledge. The Report also provides excellent case studies and proposes key solutions to carbon reduction. These include 1) Increased focus on retrofitting buildings 2) adopting a circular economy approach, 3) transition to 100% clean energy, 4) design and build all new buildings to be carbon neutral, 5) adopting a whole life cycle assessment of new projects, 6) increasing green infrastructure.

https://nla-production.s3.amazonaws.com/19777/Zero-Carbon-London-digital-report-2.pdf

The government has announced a Green Homes Grant which will give some homeowners and landlords in England a voucher to install one or more of the following “primary categories” in existing properties:

• solid wall, under-floor, cavity wall or roof insulation
• air source heat pump or ground source heat pump
• solar thermal

In addition (if households have installed one of the above), households can use their voucher for further energy saving measures. These “secondary categories” include one or more of the following:

• double or triple glazing/secondary glazing, when replacing single glazing
• upgrading to energy efficient doors
• hot water tank/appliance tank thermostats/heating controls

Households can only use their voucher for “secondary categories” up to the value they have spent on “primary categories”. The scheme starts on 1st October 2020 and wall work must be completed by 31st March 2021.

The voucher can be used to pay two-thirds of the cost of these improvements up to a value of £5,000. Those on low incomes or whose properties have a lower energy performance rating of “D , E or F” can receive 100% of the costs up to a value of £10,000. Landlords, including social landlords are expected to contribute a further 25% to the cost of the works

Suppliers must be registered with TrustMark and the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) to take part in the scheme. 

The Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) said the scheme is expected to deliver improvements for over 600,000 households, while creating an estimated 100,000 jobs in green construction. 

A significant new study, published in May 2020, into the impact of worldwide human activity including travel and general consumption, of the C-19 virus on carbon emissions, shows that the pandemic could have an impact on rising carbon emissions if reduced human activity continued throughout 2020 and beyond – see nature.com.

‘The impact on 2020 annual emissions depends on the duration of the confinement, with a low estimate of –4% (–2 to –7%) if prepandemic conditions return by mid-June, and a high estimate of –7% (–3 to –13%) if some restrictions remain worldwide until the end of 2020. Government actions and economic incentives postcrisis will likely influence the global CO₂emissions path for decades.‘

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-020-0797-x

Greenpeace Speakers are trained volunteers who deliver inspiring talks across the country about the challenges of protecting our planet and what people can do to help. Please see the Programme for the rest of June including a family-friendly talk about plastics on Monday 22 June at 4.30pm.

It forms part of our Speaker Shorts series – 15 minutes talks followed by a Q&A. From protecting our forests and oceans, to plastics and the climate crisis, Speaker Shorts give an introduction to the topic and simple things you can do to help! 

Monday’s talk will focus on the issues with plastic and most importantly, what people can do to help. The talk will be tailored to primary school children, aged 6-11.

Use this link to join the session: https://bit.ly/2N6Dx38