18Jun 2021
CEP taking part in a virtual Conference on Flood Risk Management: Science and practice for an uncertain future.

CEP taking part in FloodRisk conference: What is the future of communities’ and citizens’ “active involvement” in the delivery of FCERM to support proactive resilience? What are the challenge and opportunities for research?

CEP are taking part in the virtual FloodRisk conference which takes place between 22nd June – 24th June online.

Dr Clare Twigger-Ross will be leading a special session along with CEP colleagues Paula Orr, Rolands Sadauskis together with colleagues from Middlesex University Flood Hazard Research Centre (Dr Simon McCarthy) and HR Wallingford (Dr Jonathan Simm). The special session comes out of work CEP led on Community participation and Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management. It will be a workshop style session allowing for discussion and debate.  Prof Lindsey McEwen (University of West of England) and Susan Durden (US Army Engineering Corps) will provide short presentations designed to challenge and raise key issues specifically around community participation in long term adaptation. 

More information can be found on the website here.

Image credit: Alastair Wallace / Shutterstock.com

Team CEP
15Jun 2021
CEP to deliver a new project on local factors in managing flooding and coastal erosion risk and property flood resilience

CEP has been awarded a new project by Defra to analyse responses to a call for evidence on local factors in managing flooding and coastal erosion risk and property flood resilience

Collingwood Environmental Planning (CEP), in partnership with Middlesex Flood Hazard Research Centre (FHRC), has been commissioned by Defra to analyse responses to the Call for Evidence on Local factors in managing flood and coastal erosion risk and Property Flood Resilience (PFR) and the responses to a consultation on Amendments to the Flood Re scheme.

The Call for Evidence will explore:

  • how we can strengthen our flood and coastal defence investment programme through better assessment of local circumstances, including how potential changes to the funding formula could provide further benefit to frequently flooded communities.

  • PFR, which includes measures people can take to help reduce flood damage to their property and enable faster recovery (e.g. temporary flood barriers, raising plug sockets and so on), and ways of accelerating this policy and address any barriers to progress.

The Flood Re Consultation:

  • Defra consulted on a number of proposals, including some which go further than Flood Re’s Quinquennial Review proposals in order to accelerate the uptake of Property Flood Resilience and better support customers and insurers to recognise these benefits.

The objective of the analysis is to enable government to implement the priorities for partnership funding and PFR as set out in the Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM) policy statement.

In this project we are:

  • applying a systematic approach to review stakeholder responses to Defra’s Call for Evidence and flood Re consultation including evidence submitted as part of responses; and

  • delivering two workshops on the call for evidence with different sets of stakeholders to look in more depth at the evidence presented and to facilitate meaningful discussion of their implications for policy implementation.

The project started in March 2021 and is expected to run until June 2021.

For more information, please contact Paula Orr (Technical Director, CEP).

Team CEP
14Jun 2021
Urban Sustainability in Europe – EEA reports published

EEA reports on urban sustainability in Europe, co-authored by CEP, are now published.

The European Environment Agency (EEA) has published today two assessments on urban environmental change. These explore how European cities have the potential to lead the way towards a green, sustainable future.

CEP has been supporting the EEA’s work on urban sustainability in Europe since 2017. This has been undertaken as part of the CEP-led framework contract which provides assistance on forward-looking analysis, sustainability assessments and systemic transitions. The two reports that the EEA has published today were co-authored by CEP with our partners LSE Cities:

  • Urban Sustainability in Europe – Opportunities for challenging times  – While the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is still being assessed, it is already clear that cities currently face a triple challenge of tackling the health impacts of the pandemic, dealing with the climate and ecological emergency, and addressing social and economic inequalities. This EEA briefing focussing on the huge challenges cities have faced trying to shift to a greener future in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • Urban sustainability in Europe – What is driving cities’ environmental change? – This EEA report explores work on what could make up a benchmark on how cities evaluate key drivers of and barriers to urban sustainability transitions. It is based on a survey and interviews with selected European cities.

Conceptual framework for urban environmental sustainability:

The EEA has developed an overarching conceptual framework for urban environmental sustainability to provide the basis for future assessments. The conceptual framework is based on four main components: lenses; context; enabling factors; and building blocks.

The EEA has developed an overarching conceptual framework for urban environmental sustainability to provide the basis for future assessments. The conceptual framework is based on four main components: lenses; context; enabling factors; and building blocks.

The briefing and report are part of a series of products the EEA will publish over the coming months on urban environmental sustainability authored by CEP. Future work will include a flagship report on urban environmental sustainability setting out the EEA’s conceptual framework and summary of analysis or urban nexuses focusing on climate resilience, quality of life, accessibility, healthy environment, food security, circularity, clean energy and sustainable buildings at urban level.

Upcoming report and outputs:

  • Urban sustainability in Europe – A stakeholder-led assessment process

  • Urban sustainability in Europe – Avenues for change

  • Urban Sustainability in Europe – Learning from nexus analysis

  • Urban sustainability in Europe – Glossary of key terms and concepts

For further information please contact Ric Eales (Managing Director)

Team CEP
2Jun 2021
CEP at EU Green Week 2021

CEP to present EU Environmental Foresight project at EU Green Week 2021

CEP has been invited to lead a networking event on our current work in implementing the EU environmental foresight system as part of this year’s EU Green Week – Zero Pollution for healthier people and planet.

CEP’s Owen White will be leading the session which will present the FORENV system and the results of activities to date from the current annual cycle, which is focussing on emerging issues that will impact our ability to deliver a zero-pollution ambition.

The networking event will be held on the European Commission’s Green Week online conference space on Wednesday 2 June 2021.  Green Week is a public event and the programme and registration can be accessed here.  More information on CEP’s current work on FORENV can be found here.

For further information please contact Owen White (Technical Director)

Team CEP