Who we are
We’re a small but committed group within Hope Valley Climate Action focusing on the promotion of energy efficiency, sustainable building and green energy generation, all three of which we view as essential elements in the drive to achieve the UK’s goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Home energy efficiency
Local green energy generation
What we believe
– We believe what committees such as the IPCC and the UK’s CCC say in their reports because the latter draw on wide-ranging, empirical research from a variety of sources world-wide.
– We accept the reality of global warming and fear the threats it poses to our planet.
We support the UK government’s goal of reaching net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050 and hope that the events and activities we organise will contribute in some small way to the achievement of this goal.
We accept the conclusion reached by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its 2018 special report Global Warming of 1.5°C (https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/chapter/spm/) that: ‘Human activities are estimated to have caused approximately 1.0°C of global warming above pre-industrial levels, with a likely range of 0.8°C to 1.2°C. Global warming is likely to reach 1.5°C between 2030 and 2052 if it continues to increase at the current rate.….’
… and we also support the IPCC’s view in the same report that:‘reaching and sustaining net zero global anthropogenic CO2 emissions and declining net non-CO2 radiative forcing would halt anthropogenic global warming on multi-decadal time scales…. In other words, achieving a goal of net-zero emissions by 2050 would at least slow if not stop for several decades the rise in global warming caused by greenhouse gases, buying us valuable time to introduce further climate mitigating measures.
The UK’s Climate Change Committee (CCC) wrote in its May 2019 report Net Zero – the UK’s contribution to stopping global warming (https://www.theccc.org.uk/publicationtype/0-report/01-net-zero-reports/): ‘We conclude that net-zero is necessary, feasible and cost-effective. Necessary – to respond to the overwhelming evidence … Feasible – because the technologies and approaches that will deliver net-zero are now understood and can be implemented … Cost effective – because falls in the cost of key technologies permit net-zero within the very same costs that were accepted by Parliament in 2008.’
In its very recent Independent Assessment of UK Climate Risk (June 2021) (https://www.theccc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Independent-Assessment-of-UK-Climate-Risk-Advice-to-Govt-for-CCRA3-CCC.pdf ), the CCC advises that: ‘Risks from climate-related hazards will become more common and more damaging as our dependence on electricity grows and the variability of our weather increases. … The latest UK Climate Projections show a hot summer like 2018 is likely to occur every other year by 2050, by which time the number of heat-related deaths could more than triple from today’s level.’
The House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee March 2021 report Energy Efficiency in Existing Homes urges the government to introduce a comprehensive package of measures to improve the energy efficiency of the UK’s existing housing stock, and facilitate the transition to low-carbon heating systems. At the same time, it emphasises the economic, social and health benefits these measures would bring. https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/5171/documents/52521/default/
Interested in joining our group?
We’re a small (but friendly!) group and are always pleased to welcome new members. If you’re interested in joining us or would simply like to attend one of our meetings (which are still on Zoom) to see if the group is for you, please contact us at HVCA.Energy.Group@gmail.com.
