From serious flooding to a trail of winter storms. From record rainfall in Kent this February to dangerous landslides along the south coast. The impact of climate change is being felt as never before, perilously close to many homes.
No party has focussed more on the effects of global warming and climate change than the Green Party. This winter has brought the dangers to our doorsteps, be it homes under water in Romney, the hillside sliding onto Folkestone’s Road of Remembrance or even the Royal Military Canal overflowing near Hythe.
Local Green Party councillors are at the forefront of what will be an ongoing and difficult struggle to contain threats posed by climate change to our towns, villages, landscape and coast.
Indeed, the rise of the Green Party in Kent runs in parallel to the public’s increasing concerns about what is happening to the environment. As more and more householders are hit with higher home insurance bills, not least in flood-risk zones, public awareness of the impact of global warming is now higher than ever before.
Jeremy Speakman, the Green District Councillor for Hythe West and the Cabinet Member for Assets and Operations, has been dealing with flooding and landslide issues says:
“The unprecedented levels of rainfall and frequent storms, a wholly predictable result of climate change, have led to increased flooding, soil erosion and landslips all across the south coast in recent weeks.
“As Green councillors we are acutely aware of the effects of climate change and refuse to adopt the easy course of seeking to minimise or ignore its inevitable impact on people’s lives.
“As a district council, we are taking steps to mitigate and adapt to these changes as they become more evident in their effect on all our lives. We know that soil erosion will increasingly have an adverse effect on the Leas Cliff area so we are completing remedial action such as lowering the height and weight of trees as well as other stabilising measures will help to reduce the risk of further landslips.
“We demand that the Government invests to ensure that our coastal and flood defences remain in good order to deal with the challenges of increased rainfall and rising sea levels.”
A dry spring and warm summer may go some way to avert further landslides or flooding but with changing weather patterns seemingly here to stay for the foreseeable future, no one can be sure of what lies ahead or what next winter may bring.
We are likely to see more events like landslips and flooding as our climate changes. We demand that the Government invests more to ensure that our coastal and flood defences remain in good order to deal with the challenges of increased rainfall and rising sea levels.
Jeremy Speakman, Cabinet Member for Assets & Operations
