Making Transport Carbon Neutral

The challenge to make transport Carbon Neutral in Eastbourne.

Most campaigners want Eastbourne Borough Council (EBC) to succeed in its 2030 Carbon Neutral target for the town. This is a hard task, as much of the CO2e transport footprint, is down to individuals, where EBC has limited influence. So the questions are:- firstly can transport become carbon neutral and secondly if so by what date.

Currently both Transport for South East (TfSE) and East Sussex County Council (ESCC) are planning for the future of transport . So this is a good time to examine what might happen

Below is what EBC think would be the required reduction in internal combustion cars. In reality current levels in the UK are a long way from this.

Also identified is their High Ambition scenario – (Eastbourne Carbon Neutral 2030 Appendix 1) which still has over 70k tonnes CO2e for transport.

The problem for the town is the dominance of private cars and so far nothing has been done to reduce it. Projections by EBC show, at best, a slight decline from 80% in 2017 to 75% in 2030.

However carbon should be considered alongside other improvements such as health, reduced congestion and social inclusion. For example moving to private Electric Vehicles does little to reduce congestion or social inclusion.

Meanwhile as background bus numbers have collapsed

Much the same problem for cycling , where the share of trips is 2%, and has declined over the years.

So 2 hopes for reducing carbon are
1) Increase the number of electric vehicles. Some projections are 40% of vehicles by 2030. They either have a zero footprint or around 40% of an internal combustion engine, if all their manufacture and disposal is included. So the possible improvement on carbon is 40% to 60% but no change in congestion
2) A reduction in the share of car trips. In Council and Borough Council documents there is frequent mention of 10% fewer car journeys. Initially in the Hailsham, Polegate Eastbourne Corridor but then often quoted in residential planning applications. This would require around 150% more cycle trips, 125% more bus journeys and 33% more journeys on foot. This against a background of more traffic in the area, due to more housing, especially in South Wealden.

So what are the projections for the future? From an active travel perspective the TfSE’s ‘Our Route for Growth’ is very disappointing. Note the cycle icon also covers walking

It is hoped that the East Sussex Local Transport Plan will be more positive. To make a real change planning needs to be more daring . Here including both Push and Pull measures.

These are some further measures that could be undertaken, based on Ashden’s 31 Actions for Councils

* Ban or discourage private cars from the city centre
* Establish urban consolidation centres
* Encourage car sharing
* Enable the rapid shift to electric vehicles through EV charging
* Replace existing buses with electric buses
* Deliver a rapid transition of the council’s own fleet to electric
* Require all taxis to be electric through licensing
* Reduce the need to own and use a car through the local plan

So in conclusion, there is much that could be done, to reduce the carbon footprint of the town. But … to be really effective it would have to be transformational. The alternative is worsening congestion and a slow improvement in CO2e based mainly by adopting electric vehicles. From the campaigners’ viewpoint this is simply not enough and too slow

Paul Humphreys – EEAN Transport Group

The importance of ‘Right Tree, Right Place’

Our guest blogger for this week is Sarah Brotherton from Wild Bourne, the newest working group within the Eastbourne Eco Action Network:

One of the ways in which we can tackle the climate crisis is through tree planting. However, this may not be as simple as it seems, it is certainly not a quick solution, and it is definitely not a substitute for reducing CO² and other greenhouse gas emissions.

Why are trees and woodlands so important in tackling the climate crisis? Because they store carbon within their structures, or biomass as it is technically referred to. However, it is worth pointing out that equal or even greater amounts of carbon are stored in woodland soils, so it is not just the tree it is what is below the tree that is also important. while woodland soils store substantial amounts of carbon, many grassland soils, particularly those of wet grasslands, and other wetland habitats store vastly more carbon than woodland soils¹. Which is good to know, because although Eastbourne does not have a lot of tree cover, especially as woodland, it has large areas of wet grassland in the form of grazing marsh in the Eastbourne Park and Eastbourne levels areas.

East Sussex is one of the most wooded counties in England, with 17% woodland cover compared to the national average of 12.5%. But if you live in Eastbourne, that might seem a stretch to imagine given that Eastbourne and much of the surrounding landscape are not very wooded. That is because the bulk of woodland in the county is within the High Weald, north of Horam, which is in fact the most woodland landscape in the whole of England.

So, does this mean lots of tree planting should be happening in and around Eastbourne? Well, this is actually quite a complex question. Eastbourne has a completely different underlying geology to the High Weald, which has led to a different historical land use, and that in turn has led to the development of very different, but no less important habitats, which is why the landscape around Eastbourne and the Downs at this Eastern end are characteristically different from the low and high Weald of Sussex. Take the chalk grassland on Eastbourne’s doorstep on the Downs. This is an internationally rare habitat, with 80% of the original extent of chalk grassland lost since WWII. Much of the loss in the last 80 years has been to arable conversion on the dip slopes and spreading secondary woodland on the scarp slopes. Secondary woodland is tree and shrub cover that has naturally regenerated because of extensification – the opposite of agricultural intensification – the land is no longer actively managed.

The South Downs National Park Authority in conjunction with Sussex Nature Partnership have produced an ArcGIS map which helps to sense check potential sites across both East and West Sussex, and the full extent of the South Downs National Park for woodland creation. This map draws on national and local data and is the best woodland opportunity mapping tool we have because it has been developed specifically to be used locally. It removes areas not suitable for woodland creation that are often other important habitats, it then weighs both positive and negative factors of the remaining areas across the counties to give one of three scores depending on how sensitive (suitable) the area is for tree planting. The one down side to this excellent tool is that is cannot be used to ascertain suitability for urban tree planting, as urban areas are screened out.

Image source: Mapping Woodland Opportunity in Sussex and the South Downs National Park Technical report, 2022

The map can be found by clicking on the link below. There is a storymap element which explains how the maps work, but if you scroll to the bottom there is an interactive map, which is zoomable:

Sussex and South Downs Woodland Opportunity Mapping (arcgis.com)

This mapping work suggests there is not a great deal of opportunity for woodland creation around Eastbourne. But that is OK, because Eastbourne has other naturally occurring habitats that are just as important if not more important in the fight against climate change. And anyway, the rest of Sussex, and in particular the High Weald AONB holds a place for us with its woodland cover, the same way that the Downs holds chalk grassland for the rest of Sussex. It is a reminder that looking after and restoring all habitats for biodiversity and for us is important, including for future generations, regardless of where those habitats are found.

¹ R Gregg, J. L. Elias, I Alonso, I.E. Crosher and P Muto and M.D. Morecroft (2021) Carbon storage and sequestration by habitat: a review of the evidence (second edition) Natural England Research Report NERR094. Natural England, York

Eastbourne Carbon Neutral 2030 Gathering: a short summary

March 15th was a significant day in the Eastbourne Carbon Neutral 2030 (ECN2030) campaign, as it was the first chance for over two years for the many groups and organisations within the campaign to get together again in person to share their progress and their challenges since the campaign was launched back in January 2020. The gathering was co-sponsored by Energise Sussex Coast and the Warm This Winter coalition. The venue, Eastbourne Town Hall, was offered free of charge by Eastbourne Borough Council, together with substantial logistical support from the town hall staff, who did so much to ensure that the event was a success.

The gathering featured updates from many of the campaign’s members, some of them including slideshow presentations. First up was Andrew Durling, Executive Director of the Eastbourne Eco Action Network CIC (EEAN CIC), which organised the gathering. He delivered a welcome speech that set the context for the campaign, explained what its 2030 target meant in terms of actual carbon emissions reduction, and reported on some of the recent activities of the EEAN CIC which have facilitated the campaign. He also briefly introduced the One Planet Eastbourne platform that is being developed to help map the entire ECN2030 campaign in a visual, interactive way that incorporates as much monitoring data as possible to track progress of the campaign.

Many updates were given by most of the key initiatives within the ECN2030 campaign, and some of them included extensive and well-prepared slideshow presentations. These slideshows can be seen by clicking on these links below:

Treebourne

EcoTransport Group

Energy & Housing Group

Eastbourne Borough Council

Energise Sussex Coast

Other groups that gave updates were: EcoEd2030, Plastic Free Eastbourne, Eastbourne Jubilee Green Canopy, and Wild Bourne.

Here is a screenshot from Energise Sussex Coast’s presentation, which featured a briefing about the Energy Champions scheme that will be rolled out across Eastbourne during 2023 with the assistance of the EEAN CIC:

If you wish to train to become an Energy Champion, please contact kate@energisesussexcoast.co.uk or andy@ecoactioneb.co.uk

The updates given clearly illustrated the depth and breadth of the ECN2030 campaign and the large number of local volunteers giving so much of their time and energy to taking real action to ensure that the campaign make real progress whilst simultaneously improving the quality of life, and the health of the local environment, within the town at the same time.

The EEAN CIC intends to organise further ECN2030 Gatherings at regular intervals, hopefully every three months, in order to keep the momentum going for networking within the ECN2030 campaign and to showcase even more of the projects and initiatives within the campaign. Making Eastbourne a town that does its fair share of reducing its carbon emissions as well as learning to live within the ecological boundaries of our one and only livable planet is an ambitious and worthy goal that requires the whole of our community to come together and collaborate to achieve it. The ECN2030 Gathering on March 15th will hopefully be seen as an important step in facilitating that collaboration.

Solar Together for Eastbourne residents

If you are planning to install solar panels, or add battery storage to an existing system, then the Solar Together group buying scheme is a great way to get going.

Solar Together has been running for over six years in the UK and has delivered over 14,000 solar installations. It’s like an auction in reverse. You don’t have to rush around getting lots of quotes, you just need to register your interest. Approved installers are invited to bid for work in a geographic location. The quantity and concentration of installations in a confined area, means greater efficiency for the installers and lower prices for you. The installer with the most competitive bid will win the work.

The current scheme is open to Eastbourne Borough and Lewes district residents, but you must register by Friday 21 April 2023.

It is free to register and there is no obligation to buy.

Find out more on the Eastbourne Borough Council website.