Michelle
Dolphin - 10-Jun-2008 - The Environment
Agency will be at the Three Counties Show,
Malvern again this year from the 13 to 15
June ‘standing up to climate change’ in
aid of World Environment Day. There will
be plenty of activities to keep visitors
occupied at the Environment Agency stand
including taking part in the World Environment
Day campaign, talking to flood specialists
and even trying a spot of angling.
Up for grabs at the
Environment Agency stand by the lake is
a designer bag for life, designed exclusively
for the World Environment Day campaign by
Wayne Hemingway. All people need to do is
tell the Environment Agency the one thing
they are going to do to ‘stand up to climate
change’ – the slogan for the 2008 campaign.
It could be taking steps
to become flood-proof or saving water; both
help deal with extreme and unpredictable
weather. Changes in climate are happening
too quickly for some species to adapt, so
providing habitats for wildlife can give
a helping hand. Or people might want to
train as an emergency response volunteer,
so they can help others in a crisis, like
a flood.
The Environment Agency
will also be offering free angling coaching
giving people the opportunity to catch some
fish. The aim is to get more people to enjoy
and get involved with angling - the UK’s
most popular sport.
Not only that, but visitors
to the stand will be able to find out if
they are at risk from river flooding by
taking part in a free postcode check. Environment
Agency staff will be on hand to offer advice
on preparing for a flood and what to do
if you are affected by flooding.
Natasha Cuffley, External
Relations Officer for the Environment Agency,
said: “The Environment Agency’s job is to
look after your environment and make it
a better place - for you, and for future
generations, but we need everyone’s help
to do this. Climate change is a challenge
we must all face. We need to work together
to reduce the negative impact we have on
the environment which affects our work and
home lives. Come and find out how you can
help at our stand by the lake at the Three
Counties Show”.
+ More
Environment Agency reports
12 months on since the summer floods.
National Press Office
- 10-Jun-2008 - Environment Agency reports
12 months on since the summer floods
Nearly 12 months on since unprecedented
rainfall led to widespread flooding in England
and parts of Wales, the Environment Agency
has completed 34 flood defences to increase
protection to more than 30,000 homes and
signed up 73,000 more people to its free
flood warning service.
The Environment Agency
has also:
• Inspected 8500km of
flood defences and spent £5m on repairing
those few that were damaged, including in
Upton, Sedgeberrow and Grimsby
• Worked with Local
Resilience Forums in areas where surface
water flooding happened, such as Sheffield,
Hull and Doncaster, to help people better
prepare for flooding
• Spent £125m
on investigations and maintenance along
main rivers, including CCTV surveys along
rivers in Gloucester to check for and clear
blockages.
The recently completed
£14m flood defence scheme in West
Bridgford, Nottingham will protect 5636
properties, and a £13.1m scheme will
now protect nearly 1000 properties in Carlisle,
Cumbria.
But according to the
Environment Agency, a national effort involving
local authorities, key utilities and government
is still needed to address the vulnerability
of critical infrastructure and tackle complex
responsibilities for flooding from surface
water drains.
Chief Executive Paul
Leinster said the Environment Agency had
faced a huge challenge in responding to
last summer’s floods, as well as pressing
ahead with its day-to-day flood risk management
programme.
“We’ve had a challenging
time over the past 12 months. Since the
summer, we’ve seen two significant tidal
surges – one in November and one in March
– and high river levels in January, which
again led to properties being threatened
and flooded,” Paul Leinster said.
"Meanwhile, we’ve
been pressing ahead with the job – building
and maintaining flood defences and monitoring
rainfall, rivers and sea conditions. And
we’ve also carried out a review in each
of the major places flooded, stepped up
our flood awareness campaign, talked to
local communities, and worked with Local
Resilience Forums to help make sure the
Environment Agency, other response partners
and people are all prepared for potential
flooding in the future.
“But it’s clear that
urgent action is still needed on a number
of issues. We hope the recently announced
Floods Bill will quickly resolve the confusion
over roles and responsibilities for surface
water flooding. We believe that the Environment
Agency in England should be given a strategic
overview role for all types of flood risk
– and when given clarity on this role and
the role that local authorities will play,
we can begin to advise on priorities for
action.”
Paul Leinster said the
Environment Agency had also identified the
need for key utilities to put better protection
of critical infrastructure higher on their
list of priorities in the face of climate
change.
But he said it was also
essential that people took responsibility
for protecting themselves and their properties,
as highlighted in Sir Michael Pitt’s interim
report into the floods of summer 2007. Forty-three
percent of people living in a flood risk
area still believe that they are not at
risk of having their homes and properties
flooded and too many people when they receive
warnings don’t take appropriate action.
“Twelve months on since
56,000 homes and businesses were flooded,
the message about flood risk is slowly getting
through. An additional 73,000 people have
signed up to receive the flood warning service
since last summer – but still, less than
half of those eligible to receive this free
service have actually signed up,” Paul Leinster
said.
“Around 30,000 homes
are now better protected because we’ve completed
another 34 flood defences since last summer.
But flood defences can only do so much.
“We recognise the impact
that last summer’s floods had on the country,
those directly affected and the difficulties
they’ve had since. We can’t stop the impacts
of flooding so people need to check their
risk, sign up to our Floodline Warnings
Direct and take steps to prepare – especially
with the likelihood of more frequent flooding
as climate change occurs.”
People can check their
flood risk and find advice on how to prepare
for flooding at www.environment-agency.gov.uk.
To sign up to the Environment Agency’s free
Floodline Warnings Direct, call 0845 988
1188.
Time To Stand Up To
Climate Change - Its' No Joke!
National Press Office
- 5-Jun-2008 - Comedy and climate change
may seem like the unlikeliest of couples,
but to mark World Environment Day 2008 the
Environment Agency has teamed up with award
winning comedian Jon Richardson to help
raise awareness of climate change through
laughter.
Stand up to climate
change – time for a new routine is an Environment
Agency campaign supporting the United Nation’s
World Environment Day, which takes place
each 5 June.
A comedy routine by
BBC6 Music presenter and Chortle Awards
Best Break Through Act of 2008, Jon Richardson,
can be seen on the Environment Agency website
in a campaign promoting the need to prepare
for climate change.
Jon said: “There is
a generally held belief that climate change
in Britain will amount to a long awaited
rise in summer temperatures and nothing
else. To be safe, I have bought myself some
nice new speedos, but there is a lot more
happening than that.
“This campaign is all
about asking people to identify one thing
that they’ll do to get ready for climate
change. It could be taking steps to become
flood-proof or saving water; both help deal
with extreme and unpredictable weather.
Changes in climate are happening too quickly
for some species to adapt, so providing
habitats for wildlife can give a helping
hand. Or you might want to train as an emergency
response volunteer, so you can help others
in a crisis, like a flood.
“Of course, it’s still
very important that people cut down on their
emissions. But however good we are at that,
there is still some degree of climate change
inevitable over the next 30-40 years which
we need to be ready for. That’s why we’re
encouraging people to prepare for climate
change, as well as slow it down.”
Paul Leinster, Acting
Chief Executive of the Environment Agency,
said: “There’s a growing myth that we have
to choose between stabilising our climate
through reducing emissions or, if we don’t
do that, learning to adapt to the consequences.
That is simply not the case; we need to
be doing both.
“The summer floods of
2007 and the drought of 2006 are pointers
to what most scientists agree will be characteristic
of our future climate. There’s lots of things
people can do to prepare and that’s what
we’re helping to show them.”
Jon Richardson’
comedy sketch was performed live at the
Cardiff Glee Club. The full routine can
be found online on the Environment Agency’s
World Environment Day website, alongside
advice on practical ways to prepare for
climate change.
For more information on the campaign visit
www.environment-agency.gov.uk/wed
