Harrogate climate change professor calls on new government to ‘reverse Rishi’s rollbacks’Harrogate climate change scientist warns of more extreme heatwaves

Harrogate climate scientist Professor Piers Forster has warned extreme heatwaves could be common in just 10 years due to climate change.

Prof Forster, who has lived in the town since 2005, was one of the main authors of last year’s “code red for humanity” climate change report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on behalf of the United Nations.

The report was discussed around the globe and warned of climate catastrophe unless action is taken now.

Prof Forster has spent his career analysing the effects of climate change and is a director of the Priestley International Centre for Climate and professor of physical climate change at the University of Leeds.

The weather in Harrogate is set to peak at 38 degrees tomorrow, breaking all-time records. Prof Forster told the Stray Ferret why we are currently experiencing this extreme weather:

“The heatwave comes from a combination of a blast of hot air from Europe blowing over very dry soil. Global warming plays a big part in both these factors. Wild fires are raging across southern Europe with temperatures approaching 50 degrees centigrade in parts of Portugal.

“Climate change is warming the land and ocean, and has brought extended drought conditions to much of Europe. This means that heatwaves are over two degree more intense than they would otherwise be and are occurring much more often.  We have some of the longest records in the UK, we can use these to estimate how likely such as heatwave is.”

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Many climate change skeptics have pointed to the UK heatwave of 1976, when temperatures peaked at 35.9 degrees during one day in Cheltenham. But this was five degrees lower than what is forecast for parts of England tomorrow.

Prof Forster said the weather this week is particularly unusual but will become more common unless countries around the world take action to reach net zero.

He added:

“One hundred years ago a heatwave such as this would have occurred once every 300 years, now it’s every 15 years. In a decade or so this will be a typical summer. The science is clear that these heatwaves will worsen until the UK and every other country In the world has reached net zero emissions: all sectors of every economy will need to decarbonise. 

“Given the current crises in the world this seems like a tall ask but there is no other way. Wheat dies if it experiences temperatures of 34C or more at the time of flowering  – this is not a world we want our children growing up in.”

Grim future ‘not a given’

Today, trains from Harrogate to London have been cancelled, Knaresborough Town FC has called off a match and schools, care homes and businesses are putting measures in place to protect vulnerable people from the extreme heat.

Prof Forster said we will have to learn to adapt to more heatwaves but a “grim future” is not guaranteed if policymakers work to urgently cut emissions.

He added:

“I don’t think people realise how much the UK’s climate will change over the next two decades: we are going to have to adapt our behaviour, homes, work places, hospitals, schools, roads and trains to such hot days. Expect wild fires and spending days in doors to avoid bad air quality. 

“Our research at the University of Leeds shows that this grim future is not a given: cutting emissions urgently and strongly now can slow the rate of warming, giving societies time to adapt. We need to take this heatwave seriously: adjust your day accordingly, stay safe and hydrated.”

Harrogate businesses come together to target net-zero emissions

Harrogate’s business community met today to discuss how to meet the challenges of climate change and net-zero emissions.

The Business Net Zero Conference is being held all day at the Harrogate Convention Centre and has been organised by Harrogate District Climate Change Coalition.

It’s part of the Climate Action Festival that is taking place all month in the district in the run up to the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow.

Today’s speakers included representatives from Techbuyer, Transdev, Yorkshire Water and Bettys & Taylors of Harrogate.

‘A sign of hope’

The Bishop of Ripon, the Rt Revd Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, opened the day by challenging business people in the room whether their goal was profit “at all costs” or developing a social and environmental mission.

She said:

“Today’s conference is a sign of hope but we shouldn’t underestimate the challenges.”

Harrogate-resident Professor Piers Forster, from the University of Leeds, offered a scientific grounding to the debate during his speech.

Prof Forster sits on the UK government’s climate change committee and will be heading to the COP26 summit to help negotiate ambitious climate targets with other governments.

He showed a video of frightening wildfires in Canada caused by greenhouse gas emissions. However, he emphasised that he is optimistic that change can happen if businesses get on board.

“It’s within our power to change where we end up together.”

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Decentralisation of energy

Jennifer Woodhall, marketing director of Harrogate firm Chameleon Technology also spoke. The company is a Harrogate success story as its smart meters are in seven million homes across the UK.

Ms Woodhall said decentralisation of energy was essential to avoid the volatility that is currently engulfing the market.

“We can’t rely on a few, large sources of power.”

Paul Haslam, a Conservative councillor on Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council, as well as a Harrogate District Climate Change Coalition member, told the Stray Ferret he hoped the conference would become an annual event.

“It’s great we’ve got to this point. I’m delighted and we’ve got some fantastic speakers. It will be bigger and better next year.”

Pictured are: (from left) Jemima Parker, Cllr Paul Haslam, Prof Neil Coles, the Bishop of Ripon, Jennifer Woodhall, Cllr Phil Ireland, Jade Boggost, Kirsty Hallett, Prof Piers Forster

Decision day on Harrogate Spring Water expansion plans

More eyes than usual will be on Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee today when it considers controversial plans to expand a bottling plant in the Pinewoods.

Local planning applications rarely attract celebrity campaigners and national media attention — but Harrogate Spring Water’s proposals to destroy a section of woodland planted by local schoolchildren in 2005 has struck a nerve beyond the HG postcode.

The issue has received 372 objections and 29 in support. The cause has also found a high profile champion in former Countryfile presenter Julia Bradbury.

Many of the complaints relate to the increase of single-use plastic bottles but a council report, which recommends deferring and approving the application, says plastic is “not a reason to refuse the application” because it is regulated by specific legislation not connected to the planning system.

Tree loss

Trees are at the crux of the matter. Harrogate Spring Water has proposed to compensate for the loss of trees in the area of Pinewoods known as Rotary Wood by planting new trees on fields behind Harlow Carr Gardens, off Crag Lane.

However, environmental groups that have been deadlocked in talks with Harrogate Spring Water and its French parent company Danone, do not feel what is being offered adequately makes up for the loss of biodiversity and public access.

Harrogate Spring Water concedes that unlike Rotary Wood, the private land near Crag Lane will be inaccessible for dog walkers and hikers.

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When The Stray Ferret spoke to Rob Pickering, marketing manager for Harrogate Spring Water, he was adamant the company would not explore other sites that could be used by the public.

The proposed replanting site is in blue, and is behind Harlow Carr Gardens. The bottling plant extension is in red.

Mr Pickering said the replanting, as well as other proposals, which include building a new lake, would result in a “biodiversity net gain” for the area.

However, the climate benefits have been disputed by Piers Forster, a professor of climate physics at the University of Leeds who lives in Harrogate.

Over the weekend he published a co-authored report that says about five times more new woodland than is currently being offered is needed to properly compensate for the loss of trees in Rotary Wood.

Professor Forster went further in a letter to Harrogate Borough Council planning officer Mark Williams, saying that to pass the plans in their current form would lead to “reputational damage” for the council, especially in light of the the local authority’s carbon reduction strategy, which aims to achieve net-zero emissions on council property by 2038.

Many other groups have had their say on the application in recent days, including the Harrogate District Climate Change Coalition, set up by the council in 2019 to address the climate emergency.

The group issued a “neutral” statement on the proposals, whilst highlighting the importance of trees in mitigating climate change locally.

Harrogate District Climate Action Network (HDCAN), a separate group of 4,000 people which includes members from Extinction Rebellion Harrogate and Harrogate Friends of the Earth, wrote to councillors this week calling on them to reject the plans.

Follow the Stray Ferret on Twitter as we will be live-tweeting during the planning committee which starts at 2pm.