CLIMATE JUST news
 

As someone who has used the Climate Just website and map tool over the last two years, we thought you might appreciate an update on the site, to see what's new and hear how we've responded to feedback from users.  Climate Just is designed to help public service providers:
  • identify who is most socially vulnerable to climate change
  • where they are
  • why they're vulnerable 
  • and to identify practical responses that will make a difference

Climate Just was launched online in February 2015 after several months of development, user testing and previews and has had almost 20,000 visitors since. It was developed by Climate UK on behalf of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in association with the University of Manchester and the Environment Agency. The content on  Carbon Emissions and Fuel Poverty was provided by the  Centre for Sustainable Energy. Recent developments include a new group of case studies (detailed below) developed by JRF, improvements to the map tool, content updates to reflect recent policy changes and new research.

What impact has it made?
The University of Manchester has recently secured ESRC funding to conduct an impact assessment of the Climate Just project and together with Climate UK, JRF and the Environment Agency, will be investigating how the resources have been used, by whom and to what ends. The team are very keen to hear from anyone who has used the Climate Just tool  in practice, e.g. to inform their plans, engage their colleagues, partners or service users, make a case for action or take some practical steps. 
  • If you have a story that you might be willing to share, do please get in touch.
  • We would also like to hear from anyone interested in receiving additional support to use Climate Just resources for tasks or projects scheduled for September/October.
  • If you want to help shape the future development of Climate Just, you are welcome to give your views via our user survey if you haven't yet done so.

Our contact details at given at the end.

Recap: so what is 'climate disadvantage' exactly?

Climate disadvantage is the combination of social vulnerability with exposure to a climate hazard like flooding or high temperatures. It's a relatively new concept which recognises that people are affected by extreme weather events in different ways. Groups like older people, those on low incomes and people in poor health are more likely to be adversely affected by flooding or overheating than others. Vulnerable people may be more sensitive and less able to prepare, respond and recover than other population groups. The site's data, maps and interpretation help you visualise and understand the different factors at work.


Key features of the site and new developments
INTRODUCTORY VIDEO
Our 4.5 minute introductory video  provides an overview of how to use the Climate Just website and map tool in practice, to explore a local area, identify any hotspots of climate disadvantage, investigate who is most vulnerable and why and consider what actions can be taken to make a difference.
 

MAP THOSE HOTSPOTS
The Climate Just map tool enables you to identify any hotspots of climate disadvantage in a local area and then to investigate why a particular neighbourhood shows up in this way. You can view further map layers based on different datasets to help build up a picture. Most datasets are at a Middle Super Output Area (MSOA) level, an average of 7,200 households.
WHO IS VULNERABLE?
The website then provides detailed explanations and evidence about who is most socially vulnerable  to flooding, heatwaves and fuel poverty. These include older people, people on low incomes and people in poor health. Suggestions for action are provided for each vulnerable group.
 

USER COMMUNITY
In addition to attracting many online visitors we've worked hard to build an active user community. Over 300 people have taken part in user testing, preview, launch and training events over the last two years and we're now offering some limited support to individual organisations to help them make further progress.

IMPROVEMENTS
Recent improvements to the site include a toggle feature on the Map Tool (right hand side) which enables you to see the data value of the map layer you're viewing and a search feature on the list of map layers (left hand side) which enables you to search for terms within the menu, e.g. 'older people' or 'greenspace' which are then highlighted in dark red.
CONTENT UPDATES
We continue to update the site content to ensure it remains current and relevant. The written content on Fuel Poverty and Carbon Emissions has been revised by the Centre for Sustainable Energy to take account of recent policy changes and newer statistics. Fuel poverty maps are being updated with the latest data.
NEW CASE STUDY
The village of Hambledon in  Hampshire has had two major flood events in recent times with very different responses. A community resilience approach was adopted following the first event and proved effective the second time around as well as drastically cutting costs.
NEW CASE STUDY
A Defra-funded flood resilience pathfinder project in a deprived area of Liverpool in 2014 involved a number of activities, including improving the physical resilience of particular properties, providing advice in community languages and engaging children in schools through drama. 
NEW CASE STUDY
Two social housing tower blocks owned by the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham have been extensively refurbished to make them more energy efficient and also better adapted to climate change impacts, but getting tenants on board was key.
NEW CASE STUDY
A major new residential development in York with 40% affordable housing has been designed with a range of environmentally sustainable features, including a sustainable drainage scheme to minimise flood risk from Osbaldwick Beck.
NEW CASE STUDY
Middlesbrough Council has been addressing the public health implications of climate change by  including climate change in its public health planning, Joint Strategic Needs Assessment and working with Middlesborough Environment City.
NEW JRF RESEARCH
Seven research reports have been published by JRF in recent months, investigating different aspects of climate disadvantage, including impacts on the cost of living, care homes, public health, flood investment and community resilience.

GET IN TOUCH

Please let us know via our online form if you have any questions or comments about Climate Just or if you have some experience of trying to use it for a particular task or project, or if you would like some help in using it. 

Alternatively please  email  or call Climate UK on  0203 637 5695.
Climate UK is the national network of climate change partnership organisations in England and Northern Ireland, together with Adaptation Scotland (the Scottish Government-funded programme) and the Welsh Government. It is incorporated as a not-for-profit Community Interest Company that works in the public interest to support local action on climate change, helping local organisations to become more resilient to the changing climate.

Climate UK is constituted as a Community Interest Company,  no. 07706735