St Helena Government (SHG) is exploring how the Island could transition to net zero carbon emissions, in line with an objective of St Helena’s Climate Change Policy ‘Identify and prioritize measures to reduce and minimize greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions’. As such a Scoping Study has been funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to be completed by 31March 2021.
The Scoping Study will be delivered by Urbanisland, a consultancy based in Sweden and specialising in strategic sustainability issues with clients in the public and private sectors as well as academia. Urbanisland consists of a team with extensive experience of sustainable and climate neutral development with a further unique understanding of:
– St Helena’s journey to become a sustainable eco-Island
– The challenges of delivering this aspiration with limited financial resources
– The opportunities and difficulties related to the Island’s remote location.
Proposed key areas of focus for identifying net zero carbon emissions options will be:
Energy generation and consumption
Transportation
Other fossil fuel use
Agriculture
Fishing
Waste Management
Aviation and Shipping
Imports
Other
The process adopted for this work will include data collection and key Island stakeholder interviews, baseline carbon calculations, options appraisal and reporting.
Director of Environment, Natural Resources & Planning, Darren Duncan, commented: “We are really pleased to have secured funding to facilitate this important area of work and our thanks are extended to FCDO for making this happen. Securing the services of Urbanisland to work with us on this study is a further plus as members of their team are already familiar with St Helena, its development aspirations, climate challenges and related stakeholders. We look forward to local stakeholders participating fully in the study as people, along with technology changes, are key to a climate resilient St Helena and moving towards and sustaining a low-carbon lifestyle in the future.”
Director of Urbanisland, Trevor Graham, added: “It is really exciting to engage again with St Helena and see the progress already being made towards decreasing the Island’s climate impact. We look forward to understanding the latest ideas, thoughts and challenges from local stakeholders and look at how to harness opportunities across the Island. With its work towards 100% renewable energy, St Helena is already a leading light in global work to address climate change, but big challenges remain, not least with regard to transport. We aim to identify opportunities that can increase quality of life on the Island whilst addressing the climate challenge.”
Due to the short and intensive nature of the project, a close, open and engaged partnership approach with key Island stakeholders will be essential. The timely access to people and data will be of upmost importance for the successful delivery of this project.
#StHelena #ZeroCarbonEmissions #Urbanisland #AltogetherGreener
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