Our expert panel reflected on what they’ve heard and seek to draw conclusions about what comes next. Speakers will address making change happen from the national, city, borough and masterplan scales. Lisa Taylor urged speakers to explore how thinking about equity pushes the built environment sector to engage with climate resilience. From their areas of expertise, what are the key priorities that we should tackle collectively? Read on to find out what they said. Rhianna is a Partner and clean energy lawyer in Trowers & Hamlins’ Energy and Sustainability team. She specialises in retrofit, sustainable development, district heating schemes and energy purchasing. High-level policy must drive climate resilience at a local level, Rhianna said. She shared where we are now and what innovation could look like. “Everyone knows there’s no one size fits all when it comes to limiting solar gains. The key thing is that we take the conversation from new build to retrofit: building regulations need to make sure that people look at heat resilience whenever they make a change to their building.” – Rhianna Wilsher Rachel is a senior director at Local Partnerships, an in-house public sector consultancy owned by Local Government Association, the Treasury and the Welsh Government. “It’s horrifically unfair how climate change is affecting vulnerable people much more than anyone else”, Rachael said. Public Health Wales has shown that vulnerable people face a triple threat from climate change, COVID and Brexit. For many, climate changes worsens existing pressures they are facing, such as the cost of living, access to services, and being cut off from communities they rely on. Climate resilience must happen now and not “after we’ve done net zero in 2030”. “Local authorities are not going to be the risk owner for everything. They’re not the accountable body for every adaptive measure – but they are the convenor for those organisations. They need to have oversight, because they will be the first port of call for communities in crisis.” – Rachel Toresen-Owuor Rob is director for climate change, planning and transport at Lambeth Council. Climate change is a political and corporate priority for Lambeth, he said. As a council we are clear that the impact of climate change is greatest on residents who are vulnerable due to housing conditions, health, age and other factors. The borough is vulnerable to climate change where there are dense buildings and vulnerabilities within communities, Rob said. Some parts of the borough are vulnerable to flooding and urban heat island effects. Rob analysed the levers of change that sit at a borough level. “How can we be more effective in making the case for investment in climate adaptation? We’ve got to speak to a local level. If we don’t make investments now, we’re going to have to find more money down the road. It’s a false economy not to.” – Rob Bristow Marcus is director for partnerships, communities and sustainability. He works for Mount Anvil, a property developer that focuses on redevelopment of housing estates in central London that are no longer fit for purpose. Marcus named finance and changing mindsets as key ways to shift the dial on climate resilience. “I don’t think partnerships for climate resilience have been delivered very well. Three challenges where the sector can improve are around mindset, availability of finance and community involvement.” – Marcus Bate Our plenary speakers explored the mechanics of change through a variety of scales: national, city, borough and site. Yet they consistently looked to national government for direction. There’s a need for policy to enforce and support resilience initiatives. And enabling clarity and consistency where possible will encourage climate finance to grow. Finance for climate resilience remains miniscule. This is due to a shortcoming in our methods for measuring value, which don’t yet prize stability or factor in risk. In other words, we’re using old tools for a new world. Speakers identified cross-sector partnerships as essential for delivering resilience with agility. There’s a need to coordinate data, responsibility, risk and funding across various sector players. Local authorities will be the first port of call for citizens at risk. How do we ensure that they are set up to match demand?The final session followed a packed day of discussion with 57 speakers addressing five themes: public engagement, health equity, London and elsewhere, building and neighbourhood design and making it happen.
Speakers
Rhianna Wilsher, Trowers & Hamlins
Rachel Toresen-Owuor, Local Partnerships
Rob Bristow, Lambeth Council
Marcus Bate, Mount Anvil
Future of London’s takeaways
Fresh Perspectives – Young people-led panel discussion Fresh Perspectives – Two US projects using art and culture to explore climate resilience Including All Voices – ensuring communities are fully involved Neighbourhood Futures – Tackling climate resilience and health equity Homes and Buildings – Designing inclusive climate approaches Council-led Housing Network – climate resilience through council development Inclusive Finance – Financial models for equitable climate resilience Neighbourhoods – Designing inclusive climate approaches Health and Racial Equity – Developing community-led action for ethnic minority communities Strand Aldwych Walking Tour – how a striking new landscape was created in the historic London The conference is part of our major Knowledge programme for 2024/25, with a final report in Spring 2025. Find out more about our Climate Resilience and Equity programme. For Future of London news and event invitations, please subscribe to our monthly newsletter.
Conference session write-ups
Thank you to our conference sponsors
Arup | Countryside Partnerships | Mount Anvil | Local Partnerships
Impact on Urban Health | Pollard Thomas Edwards | Potter Raper | Trowers & Hamlins
