Mike Walker

Today, I have been at the annual TRACTIVITY Stakeholder Summit, speaking about 'Stakeholder engagement at a time of political change.' So many large organisations, utilities, regulators, local authorities and other public bodies have to cope with increasing instability and requiring new ways to approach relations with 'political' stakeholders. If this is a hot topic for you, feel free to browse my stuff on www.consultationguru.co.uk or make contact directly. #stakeholdermanagement #consultation #consultationguru #tractivity #stakeholderengagement

45

3 Comments

“People sometimes say progressives in 2024 lack a reform agenda. But when it comes to the ‘how’ of governing, it seems to me the opposite is true: the reform agenda is daunting.” I couldn’t agree more with James Plunkett - and his essay articulates that *inspiringly* daunting agenda beautifully. He also calls for a cadre of “policy managers” able to oversee both policy and delivery (like product managers in the tech world). I haven’t seen it expressed like this before but YES. It’s one of the key reasons why I joined University of the Arts London (alongside my love for creativity): I’ve been a policy thinker for a long time. But it became increasingly clear to me that theory without practice is too thin to be of use. In the polycrisis, we need models for creating multiple forms of value - beyond the economic - without extractive practice. But how do you operationalise that model in real world organisations, with all their complexity and scale? That’s why I will always be grateful to James Purnell for giving me the opportunity to join UAL - and to our extraordinary community for welcoming me. This is a place with unparalleled capacity for creative imagination and disruptive thinking about the way the world works. It’s a global centre of excellence on design thinking and regenerative practices - some of the tools James refers to in his essay. We’re undergoing a digital transformation under the leadership of Chris Condron - learning from the technology innovations mentioned in the essay like GDS, with the help of our deputy chair Ben Terrett. I can’t believe there is a better place to bring ideas and practice together to develop a new model of public leadership.

40

1 Comment

This report shares brilliant examples of community leadership and activism in many forms. It captures the questions, challenges and developments that people grapple with across towns, cities and rural areas. I highly recommend this if you are interested in matters such as: Who represents us? What does 'community' mean? Who holds the power? How are decisions made? What changes do people want to see?

2

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Ireland have published an important report on climate neutral land use scenarios from the SeQUEsTER project that I participated in, led by David Styles, with collaborators Colm Duffy, Rémi Prudhomme, George Bishop and mary ryan. Ireland’s agriculture, forestry and other land use (AFOLU) sector accounts over 43% of national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2021 commits Ireland to reach a legally binding target of net-zero GHG emissions by 2050, yet emissions from this sector continues to rise. Globally, it is assumed that land management will provide a net carbon sink to offset residual emissions from agriculture and other sectors. However, Ireland’s land sector is a large net emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2) owing to large areas of drained organic soils and low afforestation rates relative to forest harvest rates. EPA Research report, SeQUEsTER uniquely applied a back-casting approach to identify what “solutions” to net zero could look like for the agriculture and land sector. https://lnkd.in/eMeTs3Vk

26

2 Comments

New report from the Centre for Sustainability, Equality and Climate Action on the ongoing ecological crisis in Lough Neagh 'Paradise Lost: A Report on the Emotional and Personal Impacts of the Crisis of Lough Neagh'   https://lnkd.in/egqZqFv6

21

I'm very happy to complete Robert Emmet CDP / South Inner City Community Development Association (SICCDA) submission to Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications Consultation on the Revised Energy Poverty Action Plan- thanks to my colleague Deirdre Smith for her support with this and thanks to Friends of the Earth Ireland for hosting an informative meeting recently that was the catalyst for this submission. Two particular points were discovered during the course of the basic research that went into making the submission:   a) Individuals living in older Dublin City Council managed social housing complexes in South West Inner City Dublin can be expected to be paying up to an astonishing 3327% more than tenants of newer D8 developments to adequately heat their home and create conditions suitable to host positive health outcomes. b) A simple calculation- this does not take into account additional energy allowances or incentives made available through the Department of Social Protection would suggest- for a single unemployed adult availing of social welfare payments (€12064 p/a) living in a standard 48sqm ‘G’ apartment, heating their apartment to an adequate standard and paying standard rate for energy (€7,739.28 p/a) would require to spend a completely unrealistic and unsustainable 64.15% of their annual income on energy costs. The submission makes four simple policy suggestions to improve conditions for vulnerable renters and owners nationally- please contact [email protected] with any enquiries or suggestions on how these or other suggested improvements can be applied in the SWIC Dublin area. https://lnkd.in/e_CjaRh8

10

Great to see Northern Ireland has launched public consultations on an updated Marine Protected Areas Strategy and a Blue Carbon Action Plan, reflecting a growing acknowledgement of the important role that MPAs play in addressing #biodiversity loss and their "amazing ability to provide natural, or ‘nature-based’ solutions to #climatechange." The MPA strategy review also seeks to maximise co-benefits that a well managed MPA network can provide, such as improved wider biodiversity and protected nursery grounds for commercial #fish species, and societal benefits, including improved #waterquality and opportunities for recreation, eco-tourism, improved #health and increased #oceanliteracy. Objectives of the new MPA Strategy to 2030 include: 🐬 From 2024, improve ecological coherence of the MPA #network 🦈 By 2030, comply with and enhance the MPA OSPAR network design principles 🐙 By 2030, have a well-managed MPA network which enables the achievement of favourable condition and/or Good Environmental Status, through regular monitoring of #species and #habitats in collaboration with #stakeholders 🐟 By 2025, explore the benefits of implementing management approaches from strict non extractive Highly Protected Marine Areas to sustainable use management measures for MPAs. The #bluecarbon vision for Northern Ireland is, by 2050, to have #protected, well-managed and enhanced blue carbon habitats, providing increased #carbon storage alongside wider ecosystem service benefits, which help address the challenges presented by climate change and biodiversity loss. You can access the consultation documents here 👇 https://lnkd.in/e3ZdHyy9  https://lnkd.in/evu3A2YR #ocean action is #climateaction #30by30

63

4 Comments

Water - it's something we all take for granted - join Citizen Network next week to hear from experts on how we should protect and use water sustainably. These sessions are part of our long-term work to create a grassroots manifesto for sustainability in farming, food and wildlife. https://lnkd.in/e6T6QzJS

2

This is a a great Voluntary Sector manifesto, highlighting from the start, why the voluntary sector is essential. It states that the voluntary sector isn’t a ‘nice to have’. Charities don’t exist for handouts. And volunteers shouldn’t be taken for granted. Charities underpin the country’s social infrastructure. They deliver public services. They meet needs, connect communities and individuals, and help address systemic inequality. Through decades of hard work, they’ve earned deep-rooted trust. The voluntary sector: • helps solve challenges with integrity, drive and dedication • has far-reaching knowledge about the people and causes they support • works innovatively and responsibly for people instead of profit • builds trust with those who are often not heard • mobilises, develops and empowers volunteers Share this widely with your teams and trustees! https://lnkd.in/e6VJefxz

1

#CircularCommunuties #CircularEconomy Great that you are there Anthea Coulter for Clackmannanshire Third Sector Interface (CTSI) as your leadership within Clackmannanshire and the Voluntary Sector will ensure we all benefit from the knowledge sharing and learning. Circular Communities Scotland #Alloa

4

The Scottish Government have announced several transport policies as part of their response to the Climate Change Committee’s recent damning assessment of their lack of progress. There’s stuff here that’s positive - integrated ticketing for public transport, continued commitment to tackling car dependency and alignment of transport investment behind sustainable travel modes. But it’s all still so slow! Some of these are recycled commitments and the route map to the 20% reduction in car kms should have been made public months ago. Emissions aren’t cut with warm words and good intentions - let’s got on with it! I know that positive steps are being taken and schemes that will make a positive difference in communities in Scotland are already underway (often with support from Transport Scotland), but political decision makers need to own their commitments and shift gear on how they are approaching transport decarbonisation. #transport #scotland #climatechange The full list of policies announced yesterday are: 1️⃣ Publication of a routemap to 20% reduction in car km by Autumn 2024. 2️⃣ A new routemap for the delivery of approximately 24,000 additional charge points by 2030. 3️⃣ Measures to accelerate the switch from Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) to zero emission vans and other vehicles. 4️⃣ A new national integrated ticketing system for public transport in Scotland across all modes of transport. 5️⃣ Future investment in our transport network will align with the sustainable mode and investment hierarchies. New roads projects will normally only be taken forward where they reduce the maintenance backlog; address road safety concerns or adapt the network to deal with the impacts of climate change or benefit communities such as bypassing settlements. 6️⃣ Set out the high-level principles of Air Departure Tax (ADT). https://lnkd.in/edwgp8xK

13

1 Comment

The United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development starts (HLPF) tomorrow in New York. Last year the Government of Ireland used our SDG sustainability software Accelerating Action as their methodology for the country's report on SDG progress in their Voluntary National Review (VNR) at the UN. But it's not just about reporting. It's also about being able to use software like this as a design tool to build better plans, projects and, in this case, policies. The Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications continues to use Accelerating Action to inform national policy including this year and last year's national Climate Action Plan. It's an amazing feeling to feel we made a small contribution to national progress on the Global Goals - you can see some of the outputs from the software below and how it, and the SDGs, can be applied to any and all policies to translate them into a shared common global language. ✌ #HLPF #SDGsIRL #SDGs2030 #leavenoonebehind #sustainabledevelopmentgoals #SDGChampions

40

Consumer Scotland has published significant new analysis of water charges and affordability policy. Led by David Eiser the analysis identifies that around one in ten households are in water poverty in Scotland. If water charges rise to allow for investment to fix aging infrastructure and adapt to climate change, people in water poverty will need more affordability support. Consumer Scotland recommends: - the Water Charges Reduction Scheme (WRCS) upper limit is increased to from a 35% discount to 50% throughout the 2027-2033 period, at a cost of around £22 million, improving the affordability of bills for the almost 500,000 households who receive the reduction; - the Scottish Government considers scoping a new temporary ‘by-application’ scheme as our analysis suggests that only around one third of households in water poverty receive the WCRS; - that as neither of these schemes would effectively target people in water poverty, comprehensive long-term reform is also required.

29

Welcome this research report - NPF4 guidance on climate emergency badly needed. CERG thinks a Net Zero Test or screening and assessment process is needed early on to make the best decisions for our future.

12

New report out! -💡‘Cheap, Clean Electricity for Great Britain by 2030'💡 Great Britain needs to get off gas and rapidly build a low-cost, clean electricity system. Yesterday we launched our new report which sets out a framework for how this can be achieved, using the Labour Government’s 2030 clean power target as the guiding star. This is the result of 6 months spent thinking and talking with lots of you (thanks for all the insights). Its chock full of recommendations. We've summarised these in the diagram below. Super speedy summary - https://lnkd.in/exRYKATn Full report - https://lnkd.in/eXuv4xjs

41

2 Comments

You know how it is. As soon as I'd finished this blog, I thought of points I'd missed. Tackling illicit finance is crucial for the climate transition in another way. The world's tax havens enable rampant financial secrecy. That allows capital to avoid democratic oversight. And that's a disaster for climate action. It means regulations can't be enforced (if you don't know who owns companies) and capital can avoid alignment with Paris goals. All bad - for democracy as a whole & managing the climate transition. So, if we want to achieve climate goals, we need to bring capital more under government regulation - which means ending the norm of financial secrecy. Alex Wilks

12

1 Comment

What does the new government mean for the environment? New Green Alliance podcast (featuring me!) below 👇 🎧 This discussion, recorded one week after the election, delves into how the new government will likely approach environmental policy and politics, what the results mean for the future of UK energy, resources and nature policy, and what the key moment will be in the coming months.

10

If you are involved in Participatory Budgeting please take the time to fill out this very short survey about your experience and the current challenges and where you see potential opportunities for PB.

1