Global Gardens Project Climate Conversation, 13th January 2024
On the 13th January, Global Gardens Project hosted a ‘Climate Conversation' event at Waterloo Tea on Whitchurch Road. This event was part of a series of events happening across Wales, funded by the Welsh Government as part of Wales Climate week. The Welsh Government’s aim of funding these events is to “involve members of the public in exploring the links between solutions for tackling climate change and the cost-of-living crisis” and to “deepen collective understanding of the barriers faced by industry and business, regions, communities and households across Wales, action already being undertaken to address them and other solutions needed in the future.”1
1 https://cdn-eu.eventscase.com/www.climateweek.gov.wales/uploads/users/933324/uploads/
19b2d4821a1e0815227aef7fa20353d5af0da3c4f3d41232e8fa4d51dfbe60184a5b21793ef968765 7b578913d99be9d0acf.655f9a1d2df41.pdf Promotional Toolkit for Climate Stakeholders.
30 people attended our event, including five facilitators. Conversations at our event were focussed around responding to three key questions, based on guidance from the Welsh Government: Q1: What are the major challenges we face as a local community (e.g. de ning local the community as Gabalfa and/or Cardiff) in reducing emissions and realising net zero whilst making our communities better places to live?
Q2: How do we reduce emissions, make it fair for you and ensure better places to live and work?
Q3: How can the Welsh Government involve you in action on climate change fairly?
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After an introduction to the format of the event, each question was discussed in break-out groups of 6-8 people, supported by a facilitator. A break-out group representative shared key points back to the wider group.
Discussions were steered according to three principles (drawn from the People’s Assembly: How to run a People’s Assembly Guide2): • Radical Inclusivity. We want all voices to be heard. This means creating a space where everyone feels safe and able to participate, the quieter and louder voices and different identities and abilities. • Active listening. When someone else is talking this means putting aside the need to calculate a response and giving your attention fully to them. • Trust. Trust yourself when you speak, trust others, and trust in the process that you have all agreed to engage in Participants were invited to note any key responses to the questions on ‘post-its’, which were then discussed in break-out groups and summarised to the wider group. Post-its were stuck on to flip-chart paper, collated by facilitators and typed up. This document presents the findings of these discussions.
Global Gardens Climate Conversation Findings Q1: What are the major challenges we face as a local community (e.g. de ning local the community as Gabalfa and/or Cardiff) in reducing emissions and realising net zero whilst making our communities better places to live? Groups discussed five main thematic challenges: transport, food, communities, housing and energy. A number of key points were highlighted: 1. The need for government support for more local food production including access to land and infrastructure. 2. The need for reliable, affordable public transport options. 3. The need for an improved cycle network across the city that includes better designed cycle lanes and lock-up points, including routes that sync up with public transport options. 4. The need to bring more people into the space of climate action through accessible, engaging communication and engagement. 5. The support of community-based initiatives. There was also a sense that Welsh Government needs to broaden its definition of the challenges we face in the midst of the climate crisis - moving from beyond just .ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_ le/0005/2497271/How-to-run-a-Peoples-
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2 https://www.cardi
carbon emissions and realising net-zero, to a more holistic understanding of ‘just transition’ that takes into account biodiversity, planetary boundaries and social justice. Key Challenges Identi ed from Q1 Challenge 1: Transport • Public Transport -Poor existing public transport offering. -Unreliable public transport. -Not possible to rely on public transport. -Lack of commitment/money/space to developing metro. -Need to shift from space allotted to cars/parking towards improved public transport provision. • Active Travel -Better cycling infrastructures needed. -Bike parking/lanes. -Bring back city bikes! -Limit cars in city centres?/enforcing speed limits. Challenge 2: Food • Not enough locally grown, agroecological produce available. • Need for more land for food growing, especially around cities and towns. • Need for government policy on food that facilitates and incentivises local food production, including access to land/infrastructure. • Eco-products can be more expensive or require extra trips to shops in a different area. • Supermarket foods are often from overseas (eg Morocco) and wrapped in plastic: how can we change this?
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Challenge 3: Communities • Protecting the vulnerable -Safety e.g. car sharing for lone women/minorities. • Protecting Nature and Greenspace -Need for more public outdoor space not oriented towards commercial activities. • Using less, repairing, reusing and recycling. -Recycling - proper implementation. -Packaging /plastic waste management. -Sharing of resources.
• Changing mindsets -Avoidance due to not feeling like you can make a difference. -Bringing people into the room. -How do we get more people to care? -Fear of change, Sense of overwhelm. -Breaking existing habits. -Lack of awareness (Carbon Literacy Project). • Lack of immediate visible impact and delayed grati cation -Balancing long term solutions with short term visible solutions (e.g. gardens to manage surface water). • Community cohesion -Avoiding blame/division. -Thinking communally. -How can we feel more connected as a community? Moving from “ranting” eg via Neighbourhood WhatsApp groups to “caring” and feeling proactive. • Threshold for inconvenience -Solutions must be accessible and the easiest option. -Affordability - people are priced out of change. -Systemic poverty. • Systemic challenges -Broken social contract/trust. -Entrenched system (failing). • Communication -Helping people understand the positives in changing our lifestyles • Activating change - How do we start from where we are? - Lack of funding. Challenge 4: Housing • Housing Cardiff is ‘mouldiest’ city in UK. • Need for better housing provision. • Lack of insulated houses and affordable housing
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Challenge 5: Energy • Increasing renewable energies -Harnessing energy that currently goes to waste e.g. heat from incinerators/ machinery in factories. • Improving insulation -Mandatory standards for rental properties.
Q2. How do we reduce emissions, make it fair for you and ensure better places to live and work? Groups discussed five key themes: sustainable and active travel; localising food systems; sustainable housing and renewable energy; local, sharing economies, and; green education, skills and careers. We also considered some blue-sky ideas ranging from creating a Universal Basic Income to rethinking what work means and introducing a four-day working week. Key Themes from Q2 Theme 1: Sustainable and active travel • Cycling -Improve cycle lanes. -More cyclists = less cars. -City bikes, Cycle paths (more and better quality), cycle training in schools. -Bike theft is common and not solved by police. -Cycle lanes for cyclists rather than the convenience of cars. -Logical and extensive cycle lanes integrated with public transport. • Car sharing -Allow car sharers (register with Council) to use bus lanes. • Public transport -Affordable, subsidised (or even free!). -Reliable. -Accessible. -Metro system/trams. -Public transport - integrated bike network, network approach to public. -Make public transport cheaper especially trains (and nationalise railway network). -Nationalise public transport and reduce its cost for users (profit out of public transport?!) -Run transport as a service not as a business. • Active travel -Big employers incentivising active travel. -Small employers assisted to do so with grants/subsidies. -Changing/showering facilities. -Space to lock bikes. -Encourage alternatives though infrastructure.
-Local businesses benefit more from walkers/cyclists compared to drivers that pass by. • Electric vehicles -How do we stop people buying SUVs? -How can we make electric vehicles more affordable and accessible? Theme 2: Localising Food Systems • Community food -Opportunities for communal cooking and preserve making eg communal kitchens. -How to move away from ‘food bank’ neighbourhoods towards empowered, healthy food communities that offer training and jobs. -Monetary and local authority support for community growing and processing. • Supporting and enhancing diverse Welsh agriculture -Avoiding divisiveness between rewinding and livestock farming. -Appreciating diversity within landscapes and cities/economies. -Increasing sustainable fruit and vegetable production in Wales. -Supporting training initiatives in sustainable food production and processing. -Supporting new entrant growers in start-up costs for horticultural enterprises. -Increasing and incentivising field production of plant-based proteins (such as beans and peas) and grains. -Improving access to machinery for processing grains on a small-scale. • Recognising the real cost of food -Tax on mileage on food products. • Raising awareness of the bene ts of healthy, plant-based, local diets. -Free local and vegan options in school meals. -Education on the impact of food in environment. • People-centred food systems -Supporting agroecological, people-centre food systems and agriculture such as community supported agriculture and community food projects rather than just high tech food solutions such as hydroponics/robot tech.
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Theme 3: Sustainable Housing & Renewable Energy • Sustainable housing - Make sustainable housing affordable - people have the freedom to make their home eco-friendly (this is not currently possible when renting).
- Grants from the government for energy efficient housing. - Ensure all new build housing is to eco standards. - Incentivise eco building. - Transparency of carbon footprints for buildings. - Give clear carbon footprint on building projects etc waste disposal. • Greenspace within neighbourhoods - Not building on floodplains and/or greenspace sites. - All new houses with gardens. - Land justice eg access to affordable land for land-based economy • Rental accommodation - How to improve rented accommodation and make it more sustainable? Currently renters lack autonomy. - Better quality housing — good first step to increasing requires insulation, including of rented accommodation. - Rent caps in local areas. - Regulating private landlords for climate action. • Insulation - Affordable insulation especially renewable. - Reduce the need to consume energy- insulate all buildings. - Insulate homes - this is limited by capitalism - how to make changes immediately. - Insulation: affordable and incentivised, funds available for low-income households. • One Planet Development - More support for One Planet Development scheme. - Spaces to create off grid communities in Cardiff (like OPD) • Renewable Energy - Encourage development and use of low impact, sustainable energy sources and uses. - Incentives for lower energy use, e.g. points system. - Bills charged based on usage, e.g. higher rate for higher users. - Central government - bring back local subsidies for domestic solar power generation. - Encourage low energy use via incentives/subsidies/information. - Policies supporting community energy schemes. - How do we change to more sustainable energy sources? Eg tariff. - How can people get solar panels? Air source heat pumps are impractical for Victorian houses. - Support for community initiatives such as shared boilers. - Promote, support and invest in community energy projects.
- Find examples from how other countries heat homes more efficiently. - Oil extraction - charge high fee so it is no longer profitable. - District heating + Local Electricity Grid - using renewable energy - Implement carbon credits/budgets so people pay more for their impact on the environment - e.g. people who fly a lot, businesses that use a lot of power. Theme 4: Sustainable, Connected Communities • Participatory planning - Meaningful consultation/participation in community planning eg how could we help you reduce car use? What do you need in the local community? • Government support for sustainable communities - Welsh Government supporting communities to do sustainable/alternative things. - 15 minute neighbourhoods os that people do not need a car. - Supporting regional/local place-making and context eg prioritising different sustainable materials from local landscapes. • Protecting the vulnerable - Supporting and enhancing the NHS. - Collectively provided laundry services! - More opportunities for connecting with others with shared demographics. • Community energy food and transport - Sustainable tech (etc) is only affordable for wealthier people - make it accessible to all. - Communal kitchens and communal meals. • Using less, repairing, reusing and recycling. - Reimagining what a library and other public resources could be - Libraries of things normalised and found in all libraries. - Regular libraries become sharing hubs, promoting lower consumption. - Benthyg/Library of Things - raising awareness of this service. - Community resources such as tool library, toy library. - Local suggestions box/online suggestions box for local authorities. - Reduce packaging, particularly from takeaways in local area. - Introduce reusable packaging. - Deposit return schemes for glassware. - Phase out and ban plastic! - Accessible recycling infrastructure. - Without a car, large refuse sites (e.g. Lamby Way) are inaccessible. - Local drop-off points or collection system- Hard to recycle small appliances particularly for students. - Less packaging on food.
- Reduce food waste - community awareness, compost bins don’t come to my area? - Raising recycling awareness. - Creating/supporting more non-monetised ‘swap shops’. • Protecting, enhancing and increasing greenspace - Create more food growing spaces. - More allotments. - Enable local community/groups to access land. - Right to grow (like Hull). - Better support for horticulture including planning for housing on growing sites. - More shared community growing/green-spaces. - Share garden scheme where people with gardens who don’t use them can connect with those who want one e.g. for growing food. - Rooftop gardens - Ban astroturf and plastic plants. - Make astroturf require planning permission. - Don’t pave gardens. Theme 5: Local, Sharing Economies • Local businesses - Policy to support local independent businesses eg VAT/tax reduction, reduced/ subsidised business rents and rates. - Promote and incentivise establishment of healthy local businesses = locally grown food shops/whole food shops instead of vape shops, etc. - Mandate improved energy efficiency of products. • Sharing economies - Highlight/promote/support pre-existing and new community projects. - Provide more public spaces not oriented towards commercial activity. - Support for development of cooperatives (coops) not for profit business models. Theme 6: Green Education, Skills and Careers • Education around just transition and climate change and climate action - In built climate science and just transition into the curricula. - Identify origins of emissions. - Develop of different concept of wealth. - Room for diversity/different livelihoods. - Part of schools curriculum…and employment policy…fair? - Taking kids to do litter picks so they become more aware of not dropping litter.
• Green skills - Focussing investment, training, opportunities and use of public funds for green skills (including in horticulture, silviculture, agroforestry, education, forest school, nature connection, conversation). - Community service with an environmental focus? - Opportunities for skill sharing - Mandatory public service of 6 months for 18 year olds. • Public awareness of climate change and what creates emissions - Simple and clear messages - Advantages of reducing emissions -Affordability -Health benefits -Happiness - Real life examples Blue sky thinking ideas • We need radical change - justice and social change. • All Welsh produce. • Making a national commitment to agroecological food production - such as in Andhra Pradesh and Sikkim in India. • Utilise wave power - Severn has the second highest tidal range in the world, let’s use it,. • Close new clothes shops • Ban all disposable packaging • Fuel/energy rations • Free public transport • Supermarkets are responsible for the waste (including packaging) that they produce • Universal basic income • Rethinking what it is to work full-time - 4 day work week • Mandating extended supported paternity leave as well as maternity leave • Working for the community - redefine ‘work’ • Incentives to get younger people into rural areas Core Issues Focus on core problems - e.g. NHS problems could be improved by focusing on on people’s health and wellbeing such as promote exercise, healthy eating. Learn from indigenous practices and ways of living Take inspiration/learn from indigenous tribes - live a more natural way of life
Reduce consumption Key Themes from Q3 Q3. How can the Welsh Government involve you in action on climate change fairly? In groups, people discussed how they would like to be more involved at the local level. There was also discussion around the themes of public sector accountability and financing climate action; inclusivity and reaching the harder to reach. Theme 1: Local level • Participation in local level decision-making - Community involvement - Citizens assembly - Demographically representative - Specific actions - Decision-making taking into account connection to place and place-making - Including more transient population members: students currently not seeing where they live as ‘home’. - Citizen’s assemblies having decision-making powers. - Support more ‘Climate Conversations’ again and again and again! - More application of local deliberative democracy. • Raising awareness of local government - Who is your local MP? What have they done in you local area? I don’t have a clue. - Need to raise awareness of local councillors and actions they’ve ben taking. - Help people understand and get involved in local politics - publicise what is being done and how to get involved. • Building better understanding of local issues - Consultations to see what people want/need - especially low income areas. • Investing in local government - Fund local councils better. - Supporting local governance including with resources. - Standing climate agenda items for local councils - Climate officers Theme 2: Accountability & Financing Climate Action • Accountability of the public sector - Reporting back to public and transparency of decisions.
- Ability to report climate crimes to a designated climate officer who can enforce punishments. - International comparisons of achieving targets. - Behaviour informed education. - Direct and clear communication. - Better transparency of lobbying. • Make reducing emissions a mandatory discussion. • Financing climate action - Funded day to do climate action. - Like existing volunteer days. - Not just for big companies, support for small companies. - Address cost of living. - Provide financial support to transition. Theme 3: Inclusivity and reaching the harder to reach • Inclusivity - Give people a voice from all different demographics (citizens jury, participatory budgeting, standing citizens assembly, surveys, organ more chats like this one). - Some people don’t have time to be engaged in climate issues trying to make a living. - Give people time off to vote. - Ensuring diverse + underrepresented voices are heard. - Recognising the positives of each generation e.g. make do & mend approach of older people - Activist approach and energy of younger people - Multigenerational spaces for deliberation - Bridge divides between communities - Help to identify my strengths and skills and use them - regular community forums as part of a consultation network. Engage me - as a single woman over 70, I often feel invisible and non-productive. - Value everyone. Elected representative of each demographic. - Creating visions and strategies for sectors/demographic groups. - More localised consultation across sectors and demography as well as within eg farmers’ panel on climate action or single OAPs response to certain issues. - Opportunities to be actively involved in local community and be valued for it. - Connecting people - opportunities to reduce isolation and loneliness - Multi sector approach - A way for every person to identify this contribution to Cardiff’s emissions and be guided in how they could be reduced if they could choose.
• Communication: accessible and networked - Plain language communication - Accessible language - Raising awareness of existing community projects - And other ways to get involved locally - Information, resources and community networks accessible via a centralised online & physical location - Be honest with everyone - denial of climate change - worried about scaring people. - Meaningfully supporting resources, free training etc, supporting local initiatives. Blue sky thinking Sovereign Economy - Independence in decision making around climate - Build local infrastructure rather than legislate - Independence from Westminster Sharing Economy - Shift away from encouraging individualised action towards recognition of systemic causes I.e. of capitalist accumulation and growth imperative. Rights for Nature - Legally bound rights for nature Polluter Pays - Tax emissions of wealthy - Lead by example in government Electoral & Policy Reform - Proportional representation? - Elected representative like citizen’s jury: eg such as a citizen’s panel of single woman aged 60-65 from a range of ethnic backgrounds and educational/ professional. - Political change - mandatory weighting give to climate action in voting at elections and carbon footprint of candidate’s election activities. - More valuing of those supporting health, well-being and planet ecology. - Broadly defined ‘justice’: restorative, anti-subordinational, intersectional, relational. - Publicised well-being indicators including ‘fundamental human needs’ and biophysical indicators (and planetary boundaries).
Conclusion: Realising Just Transition Fairness for All as we move towards a Just Transition At this Climate Conversation event, attendees highlighted several systemic challenges communities face in taking climate action, including: affordability of making changes as well as the realities of living in relative poverty. It was felt that changes need to be affordable and easy to make and that there needs to be inclusive diversity so that changes to be accessible to all - changes need to take into account diverse cultures, livelihoods and belief-systems so that we avoid an ‘us’ and ‘them’ mentality. This may require investment into researching what extra provisions or support are needed by those communities who currently face extra challenges in taking climate action (such as minority ethnic communities and those with disabilities). When discussing the changes we would like to see, there was a clear sense that climate action needs to be affordable, accessible and not result in further inconvenience. For example, public transport needs to be affordable and reliable, otherwise it makes it harder for people to make an active commitment to reducing reliance upon car use. At present, driving can often be the more affordable and convenient option. We discussed the need to make electric vehicles more affordable and charging points accessible to help people transition from diesel and petrol. We spoke about how employers can also play a role in promoting active travel by offering suitable bike locking facilities, showering facilities, support for purchasing bikes and even subsidies for employees to use public transport or to travel actively. Similarly, with making improvements to houses so that homes are better insulated and energy saving, people need to be incentivised and supported to make changes - particularly those living in lower income households. We spoke about the urgent need for deprived communities to move away from identifying or being identified as ‘food bank’ communities and to move towards self-empowered, self-realising thriving local food cultures and economies. Community growing, community supported agriculture, community food processing hubs and community kitchens were identified as important resources for building a community-based, localised food system. Welsh Government can support new entrant community growers by providing access to affordable land for growing and processing, grants and capital for infrastructure required by new entrant and sustainable horticulture
enterprises. They can also support community-based food systems by investing in the infrastructure required for local food processing initiatives. They can further make a commitment to building green skills starting from primary school all the way up to further and higher education (including in sustainable horticulture, sustainable cooking and nutrition and sustainable forestry) - embedding green skills within curriculums and investing in training that also builds green skills and nature and climate awareness amongst educators. Local authorities can also play a role by actively reducing and capping business rates and rent for local independent businesses and organisations and sustainable horticulture enterprises and initiatives as well as capping the private rental market and working with landlords to incentivise and legislate sustainable rental housing. Currently, the playing field is not fair and corporations and large-scale industrial faming are receiving distorted amounts of public funds (for example via agricultural subsidies) and an unequal share of the market, whilst small scale farms can often be unable to access public funds due to their small size and small scale businesses can often face disproportionately higher overheads and rates. For a just transition we need a fairer playing field. We considered the idea to tax on mileage of food products as well as pricing systems that re ect the ‘real cost’ of food. Welsh Government can lead by example by investing in local, sustainable food for public procurement. We discussed how Wales as a small nation has the potential to pioneer sustainability - as already demonstrated by the Well-being of Future Generations Act and commitments to sustainable livelihoods such as the One Planet Development initiative. However, there needs to be more active support for people trying to create sustainable livelihoods. For example, One Planet Developments (OPDs) are few and far between in Cardiff City Region especially in urban and peri-urban areas. Why is this? Whilst OPDs in Swansea for example have encountered significant challenges to planning.
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We spoke about radical opportunities to try to implement just transition through legislation - ranging from making Wales an agroecological nation committed to agroecological production and a renewable energy nation - harnessing the power of the waves, winds and tides. There is also opportunity to implement more fair practices that support just transition in the work place - for example via ‘four day work week’ plus improved paternity leave.
Question 3 highlighted a willingness to participate more in local and national decision-making. We spoke about representative initiatives that give people a voice from diverse demographics (such as citizens juries, participatory budgeting, standing citizens assembly, surveys, organ more chats like this one). In conclusion, we recommend : 1. decision-making that takes into account connection to place and placemaking; 2. decision-making that is representative of the population of Wales (including more transient population members such as students and sanctuary seekers); 3. local deliberative democracy initiatives that give opportunities for enacting power.
About Global Gardens Project Global Gardens is a community growing project based in Cardiff. Our aims are: 1) to support community-based learning about food growing, seasonal cooking and sustainable arts and crafts; 2) to support intercultural and intergenerational communication and understanding and nature connection. We host a programme of activities including: -twice weekly volunteer garden sessions; -weekly social prescribing sessions; -a making and mending club; -monthly forest school sessions for 1-11 year olds; -a range of courses and workshops.
Find out more at www.globalgardensproject.co.uk or on Insta/Facebook @globalgardensproject.
Appendix Question 1:
Question 2: notes
Question 3: notes