Our
Chairman, Lord Chris Smith, gave a lecture
to the Henley Business School on Wednesday
3 February, where he spoke of how climate
change remains our most urgent priority.
Recent reports of a
mistake in a climate change paper lead some
of the media to splash the news that climate
change isn’t happening — that we no longer
need to worry — across their front pages.
'In a way I wish that
were true,' said Lord Smith. 'But it isn't.'
In his speech, Lord
Smith explored some of the major changes
that will be required over the next few
decades and some of the opportunities to
make these changes — both within society
and our economy, energy and transport policies.
'Climate change is happening'
'Let me lay to rest the myth fostered by
some of the media in recent months that
somehow the scientific evidence for climate
change is deeply flawed, and that recent
challenges to one or two points in the International
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports mean
that we don’t need to worry any more.
'There’s no excuse,
of course, for science that lacks rigour
and a robust evidence base. Sloppily expressed
emails at the University of East Anglia
were irresponsible and very damaging. A
blithe assumption that the Himalayan glaciers
may melt by 2035 — when they won’t — should
never have been inserted in the IPCC report.
'But let's not allow
these one or two errors to undermine the
overwhelming strength of evidence that has
been painstakingly accumulated, peer reviewed,
tested and tested again, and that shows
overwhelmingly that our emissions of greenhouse
gases are having a serious impact on the
earth’s atmosphere, and that as a result
climate change is happening and will accelerate.
'Climate science is
not a religion. It is fallible. It will
be revised as more evidence emerges. But
it has very clearly identified the direction
in which things are heading, the causes
of those changes, and the need to take action
before it is too late.'
Read the full transcript
of Lord Smith’s speech (PDF, 69KB)Act together
The lecture concluded that we will only
be able to confront climate change if we
act together as a society and economy. Lord
Smith said we must value more fully the
impact we have on our environment, make
the changes we need to reduce it and prepare
for the effects of climate change.
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MP to see how new Romsey
office sets the environmental standard
Sandra Gidley MP will
discover how the Environment Agency is leading
by example when she officially opens our
new environmentally efficient office in
Canal Walk, Romsey at 10am on Monday 22
February.
The development in the
centre of Romsey has already achieved an
excellent rating under BREEAM 2006, the
most widely used environmental assessment
method for buildings around the world.
In relocating over 50
staff from its offices in Colden Common
near Winchester, the Environment Agency
wanted to develop a new commercially viable
building in Romsey to the highest possible
environmental standards.
Christchurch based architects
Quorum Design and main contractor Drew Construction
from New Milton used the latest technologies,
innovative design and stringent site management
to ensure excellent environmental performance
in both the construction and use of the
building.
Technologies used in
the building range from rainwater harvesting
to cut water consumption and intelligent
lighting systems to cut electricity use,
as well as natural ventilation systems being
provided. The office also includes under
floor low pressure hot water heating systems
to provide efficient effective heating without
using wall space. The environmental impact
during construction was also reduced through
use of recycled materials and careful management
of energy and resources on site.
The Environment Agency
is now urging other organisations and developers
to follow its example by developing office
buildings which reduce their impact on the
environment, whilst saving resources and
costs.
James Humphrys, Environment
Agency Area Manager said: "It is crucial
that we help set new standards on environmental
performance. This state of the art development
shows public and private sector organisations
not only that it can be done, but also that
it reduces costs to the business too.
“This project clearly
demonstrates how organisations can work
with developers to build exceptional offices
which meet their needs whilst reducing their
impact on the environment. By relocating
to a more efficient building in Romsey,
the Environment Agency will save around
eleven per cent every year on operational
and energy costs, an estimated £60,000
saving per year."
The Canal Walk offices
are located adjacent to Romsey railway station
and the area has good bus routes for staff.
The Environment Agency promotes cycling
and aims to reduce the environmental impact
of travel by cutting carbon emissions. Provision
for future electric vehicles has been built
into the design of the development.
• The Environment Agency
has been ranked as the top green UK public
sector organisation in the Sunday Times’
annual Green List, published in May 2009.
The Sunday Times’ Green List is a guide
on businesses with the most radically improved
environmental performances, and takes account
of the views of employees, as well as assessing
the environmental performance, policies
and practices of businesses.
• BREEAM (BRE Environmental
Assessment Method) is the leading and most
widely used environmental assessment method
for buildings around the world, with over
110,000 buildings certified and over half
a million registered.
• It sets the standard
for best practice in sustainable design
and has become the de-facto measure used
to describe a building’s environmental performance.
Credits are awarded in eight categories
according to performance. These credits
are then added together to produce a single
overall score on a scale of Pass, Good,
Very Good, Excellent and Outstanding which
is also reflected in a star rating from
1 to 5 stars. www.breeam.org
