eg magazine sustainability, resource efficiency & climate change

http://www.london.gov.uk/climatechange/strategy

The Mayor of London has published a Climate Change Adaptation Strategy for London which takes a risk-based approach to understanding the climate impacts today, and how these are expected to change through the century. The strategy provides a framework to identify and prioritise the key climate risks and then to identify who is best placed to work individually or collaboratively to deliver actions to reduce or manage these risks. In parallel to the consultation on the content and actions proposed in this strategy, the Mayor would also like to hear from Londoners on what actions that they can take to prepare individually, or as communities, for the impacts of climate change. The Climate Change Adaptation Strategy undertakes seven tasks:

• It analyses how London is vulnerable to weather-related risks today, and so establishes a baseline to assess how these risks change.

• It uses projections from climate models to identify how climate change accentuates existing risks and creates new risks, or opportunities in the future.

• It prioritises the key climate risks and opportunities for London.

• It provides a framework that: identifies actions where the GLA is uniquely placed to act; identifies where other stakeholders need to act; facilitates action by highlighting where collaborative working will increase the efficiency and effectiveness of any action; identifies and prioritises where further work is required to understand the climate and its impacts before actions can be defined.

• It establishes a strategic process by which London can put in place the measures necessary to adapt to future climate change.

• It recommends how London should capitalise on the opportunities presented by climate change.

• It demonstrates how London can become an international exemplar on adaptation.

The key actions proposed in the strategy are: to improve our understanding and management of surface water flood risk; an urban greening programme to increase the quality and quantity of greenspace and vegetation in London; and to retro-fit up to 1.2m homes by 2015 to improve the water and energy efficiency of London homes.