Climate Change and Seaford

On the 20th August Seaford Town Councillors unanimously declared a Climate Emergency following the example, rather belatedly, of the Government, East Sussex County Council, Lewes District Council and most councils throughout the country, and reflecting the majority of scientific and popular opinion worldwide.

What does declaring a Climate Emergency mean, and how will it materially change anything? This is a very good question and one which was levelled at me when I first put the idea to Full Council last autumn. It could mean very little, as has been seen with the Paris Accord, where European Governments made pledges to reduce carbon emissions drastically, but in practice none have met their goals. But it could mean a lot if together we take action in our town to reduce our carbon use, try to live sustainably and actively support our neighbourhoods to be resilient and environmentally aware.

Climate Change is a hugely complicated subject, but after the recent extreme weather conditions – wildfires, thawing of ice-caps and unbelievable biodiversity loss – it should be apparent to any reasonable person that this is a real event which will affect the lives of us humans and possibly every living thing on the planet. As a seaside town it may affect us more with the predicted rises in sea levels.

The Climate Change Working Party (CCWP) at Seaford Town Council was formed last autumn to look at how we in Seaford can aspire to reduce our carbon output as a council and as a town. I, with four other councillors, have worked hard to look at things that can be achieved within the town. Much of what needs to be done, we recognise, needs to be on a large scale and this involves infrastructure change and countrywide policy change from central government, which is beginning to be seen, although very slowly and not at sufficient scale of investment.

But we also agree that there is a role for everyone in society to contribute and ‘do their bit’ in helping to reduce our impact on the environment and therefore our climate. The smallest actions can cumulatively have a large effect. For instance, if everyone who only needed a couple of things from the town centre left a bit more time and walked or cycled there instead of using the car, that would be a large carbon saving throughout the year. It would also be healthier for them taking the exercise and for others not being affected by the exhaust.

Locally there are some active groups, a few of them listed below, who are keen to work on neighbourhood projects to do with saving our green spaces, and encouraging wildlife and sustainability. Do join up with one of them or, if you’d prefer, create a space for wildlife in your own garden, or make a hedgehog run through your garden fence. Every little helps! The CCWP thanks councillors for backing the declaration and now looks forward to the community getting behind this decision and making our town safe and sustainable for the future.

James Meek, Chair of CCWP, North Ward

Photo: East Blatchington Pond – Friends of Blatchington Pond

Trees for Seaford: Email: TreesForSeaford@gmail.com Friends of Blatchington Pond: Email: malj195@btinternet.com SEA, Seaford Environmental Alliance Email: hello@seafuture.org SCP, Seaford Community Partnership Email: seafordpartners@gmail.com

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