Nov. 21 2023
Source Page: Renewable energy and the effects of wind and solar droughtsFound: Renewable energy and the effects of wind and solar droughts
Nov. 21 2023
Source Page: Renewable energy and the effects of wind and solar droughtsFound: Renewable energy and the effects of wind and solar droughts
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to tackle the risk of (a) drought and (b) water scarcity.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
(a) Defra published its Plan for Water 2023 which set out the importance of ensuring a clean and plentiful water supply in England. The Plan sets out our commitment to a twin track approach to improving water supply resilience, with action to reduce water company leaks and improve water efficiency, alongside investing in new supply infrastructure.
Last year, regional water resources groups and water companies consulted on their draft water resources plans. These statutory plans set out how each company will secure water supplies sustainably for at least the next 25 years and how drought resilience will be improved. The plans contain proposals for multiple new water resources schemes, including new reservoirs. Water companies also maintain statutory drought plans, which show the actions taken to maintain secure supplies during droughts.
(b) To address water scarcity, the Government has set a new legally binding target under the Environment Act 2021 to reduce the use of our public water supply in England by 20% per person by 2038. To achieve this, we will reduce household water use to 122 litres per person per day, reduce leakage by 37%, and reduce non-household (for example, businesses) water use by 9% by 31 March 2038. This is part of the trajectory to achieving 110 litres per person per day household water use, a 50% reduction in leakage and a 15% reduction in non-household water use by 2050. Our Plan for Water and Environmental Improvement Plan have set out our roadmap to water efficiency in new developments and retrofits, to be delivered over the next decade. This includes developing clear guidance on ‘water positive’ or ‘net zero water’ developments and roles for developers and water companies, including water company incentives. We are also working closely with water companies to increase the supply of water.
In December 2023, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities issued a Written Ministerial Statement which set out that in areas of serious water stress, where water scarcity is inhibiting the adoption of Local Plans or the granting of planning permission for homes, we are encouraging local planning authorities to work with the Environment Agency and delivery partners to agree standards tighter than the 110 litres per day set out in current guidance. Defra will also be reviewing building regulations in spring 2024 to allow local planning authorities to introduce tighter water efficiency standards in new homes. Defra is also reviewing the evidence base for water reuse systems with a view to consulting on changes to the water supply regulations to enable greywater reuse and rainwater harvesting to be managed by water companies.
At Spring Budget 2024, the Government published a policy paper setting out its ambition to address water scarcity in Greater Cambridge and measures to achieve this. It builds on significant interventions and investment of nearly £9 million - including £5.8 million of new funding - announced last July and at Autumn Statement 2023.
Increase investment in flood risk management and climate resilience
- Final Signatures: 99
The UK is at high risk from the impacts of climate change. While climate change is politicised, and many find the topic overwhelming, we must understand and prepare for its consequences: floods, droughts and sea levels rising to name a few.
Found: wetter winters, drier summers and more frequent and intense weather extremes, with associated floods and droughts
Written Evidence May. 15 2024
Inquiry: Climate change and securityFound: thousands.Christopher Healey (London Politica) CCS0013 Elsewhere in Africa, climate change has exacerbated droughts
Written Evidence Apr. 04 2024
Committee: Public Accounts CommitteeFound: Ministry of Justice that administers legal aid under LASPO 2012, s.4(2). 16 Jo Wilding, (2019), ‘Droughts
Apr. 18 2024
Source Page: National Drought Group meets after record wet October to MarchFound: The National Drought Group has reconvened to discuss ongoing preparation for future droughts, but confirmed
Mentions:
1: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green - Life peer) of 2024 and the climate emergency, Britain faces greatly increased risks and the reality of floods, droughts - Speech Link
Mentions:
1: Martyn Day (SNP - Linlithgow and East Falkirk) declares continued deforestation of the Amazon is contributing to the forest’s inability to recover from droughts - Speech Link
Dec. 11 2023
Source Page: Drought investment must remain priority, experts urgeFound: Drought experts have highlighted the need to continue investing and preparing for droughts to ensure