Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

The Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Management Plan 2011 - 2016

Climate Change & Energy

Visions

• A reduced carbon footprint for AONB communities, businesses and tourists.

• AONB communities and landscapes which are able to adapt to climate change and where the effects of climate change can be mitigated whilst maintaining landscape quality and distinctiveness.

Background

It is now widely accepted that climate change is happening as a result of modern human practices. Although a global problem, Cornwall will need to respond to the impacts of climate change in particular ways and develop local solutions to reducing carbon emissions and creating renewable forms of energy. In facing climate change the AONB is almost certainly
dealing with the biggest challenge in its 50 year history. The AONB must look to the future and make difficult choices about how the landscape can be robust in the face of climate change but also how it can be part of the solution.

Cornwall has a mild climate, strongly influenced by the sea, the Gulf Stream and regular weather fronts from the Atlantic. The south coast of Cornwall is most at risk from flooding, due to future sea level rise, as a result of climate change. Significant areas of the Cornwall AONB currently under high risk of tidal flooding are Loe Bar, the upper reaches of the
Rivers Fal and Fowey, the mouth of the Red River at Godrevy, the creeks of the Camel Estuary and at Caerhays and Pentewan. In the longer term the risks in these areas are all set to increase with the upper reaches of the Helford and north coastal stream valleys also becoming ‘at risk’1. The management of these direct effects of climate change and how
they impact on AONB communities will be as important as the efforts to mitigate climate change.

Climate change is a cross cutting theme which affects all of the topics covered in the Cornwall AONB Management Plan. This chapter has been produced to give an overview and a strategic look at how climate change may impact upon the AONB landscape and affect how it is managed. Specific responses to climate change will be dealt with in detail throughout the plan.

1. Climate Change in Cornwall: Sea Level Rise Implications –
Geographical analysis of future high tides (2008) Cornwall County Council.

Management Framework

• The Cornwall AONB could be a beacon of best practice in terms of how climate change can be addressed in rural communities within a nationally protected landscape

• Cornwall Council is a signatory of the ‘Nottingham Declaration’ which commits the Council to progressively address the causes and impacts of climate change

• The Climate Change Act 2008 contains a legally binding target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050

• Carefully accommodated community owned renewables and individual microgeneration can generate green energy and reduce fuel poverty

• Currently expensive technologies which are less impacting on the landscape e.g. photovoltaic tiles and ground source heat/geothermal and anaerobic digestion are becoming increasingly economically viable

• There is much potential for pilot projects in AONB villages to examine how buildings can be designed or retrofitted to be ‘low carbon’ whilst still maintaining local vernacular and built character

• The ‘Hard to Treat’ paper produced in 2006 by the Cornwall Sustainable Energy Partnership outlines approaches to energy efficiency in hard to treat homes

• The Shoreline Management Plan details arrangements for coastal areas at risk from tidal
flooding and coastal erosion (See Rivers, Coast and Marine)

• Climate change will be a focus of the Local Development Framework

• Cornwall Council’s ‘Green Cornwall’ programme is intended to make radical cuts in emissions by improving energy efficiency, developing and promoting renewable energy and reducing emissions associated with vehicles.

• Low Carbon Cornwall, based within the Cornwall Development Company seeks to take forward the strategic development of a low carbon economy within homes and businesses

• Community Energy Plus offers advice and support for families, schools, community groups
and businesses in tackling climate change

• The ‘hidden’ benefits of landscape in adapting to and mitigating climate change e.g.
carbon sequestration, carbon storage and water management are increasingly being recognised

• There is potential for research to ascertain the state and extent of carbon soil stores in Cornwall

• There is potential for the growth and marketing of non-food/non-traditional types of crop, responding to a changing climate

• The woodlands of the Cornwall AONB present the opportunity for sustainable fuel production

Climate Change & Energy Policies

CCE1	Promote and encourage appropriate renewable energy technologies of a scale and design which are able to be accommodated within the sensitive landscapes of the AONB, whilst guarding against cumulative impacts across the AONB
CCE2	Promote energy efficiency measures in ‘hard to treat’ homes, businesses and community facilities within the AONB and develop effective means of retrofitting which do not detract from landscape character whilst increasing resilience against fuel poverty
CCE3	Increase awareness of how the AONB landscape may change in relation to climate change in terms of natural and man made responses, particularly with respect to tidal flood risk and coastal communities, in order to enable these communities to plan for change at an early stage
CCE4	Ensure the adaptation of AONB land and the development of appropriate Green Infrastructure to mitigate the impacts of climate change whilst enhancing the landscape and providing opportunities for biodiversity and soil and water conservation.

Climate Change & Energy Actions

A/CCE1	Identify best practice examples of energy conservation measures and renewable energy generation such as geothermal, solar thermal and photovoltaic panels that conserves the character of buildings and surrounding landscape. Develop associated general guidance for energy conservation and a demonstration project within the Cornwall AONB – Community Energy Plus, Low Carbon Cornwall and Cornwall Council Environment Service
A/CCE2	Identify opportunities within the AONB for the adaptation of land to climate change, utilising ecosystem goods and services/valuing the environment approach (to locate habitats and features), as part of a wider Cornwall Green Infrastructure Strategy – Cornwall Council Environment Service
A/CCE3	Input into the Shoreline Management Plan (SMP) Action Plan to ensure the coastal character of the AONB is enhanced through any proposed action; engage in early discussions with Parish Councils and local communities regarding its implications and ensure the SMP is embedded within the Core Strategy – Cornwall AONB Unit, The Environment Agency, Cornwall Council Environment Service and Cornwall Council Planning and Regeneration (see Rivers, Coast and Marine)

Further Information

Further information on condition, predicted trends, management framework and monitoring can be found in the web based appendices to this chapter http://www.cornwall-aonb.gov.uk/management-plan/further-climate-change-and-energy.html