Watch our video on how we're working together: Click here.

SusSH was formed last year to connect, support and inspire sustainability projects across the South Hams.

The organisation shares vital knowledge with parishes and community groups to support on the ground climate action projects, so that meaningful and positive change happens faster.

Among SusSH's biggest achievements so far is their Rivers Assembly. They invited community group leaders and organisation representatives together to share knowledge and ideas on how to protect our rivers, with two action groups set up to look at protecting the River Erme and the River Avon.

SusSH has also organised a scrutiny group of volunteers with legal, engineering and data analysis experience to work with South West Water and the Environment Agency to look at overspills and how to protect the district's rivers and waterways.

Jane Nichols, CEO of Sustainable South Hams, said: "Action on climate change has to be a case of working both top down and bottom up. We have to do our bit, as communities and individuals, and we need government to do their bit too. We're all part of the system and part of the solution.

"The funding we've received from the Council has been vital in us carrying out our work locally - we just wouldn't have been able to do any of it without it.

"We've got a network of 42 sustainability groups now across the South Hams. Each one of those people connected, knows people. If we can create and share knowledge through that network, we're reaching thousands of people and our impact can be profound."

In June, the Council Executive pledged the organisation £40,000 of funding to help it continue its work on protecting the South Hams' biodiversity and fighting climate change.

We're also building even stronger ties between the Council and SusSH through our new Climate Change and Biodiversity Advisory Group, which will use specialist and expert knowledge to support the Council and wider community's climate ambitions. Its core aim will be helping develop district-wide projects that have an influence on lowering carbon emissions.

Cllr John McKay, South Hams Executive Member for Climate Change and Biodiversity, said: "Sustainable South Hams have only been around for around 12 months, but since funding them last year, they've done extraordinary things in terms of bringing small groups together and disseminating knowledge between them.

"They created a dynamic across the district that's very important. I want to see the Council tap into that energy and the clear gift that they have for organisation. That will help us achieve our climate change goals."

Net zero: The moment for multilateral governance and national regulation

Wednesday, 4 October 2023 2 p.m - 3:30 p.m

National net zero commitments now cover 88% of global emissions, 92% of GDP and 89% of the world’s population (Net Zero Tracker).

To support this, net zero guidance and standards now exist for organisations at every level of the economy. Still, an implementation gap exists with respect to net zero regulation and implementation at the national level. There is limited multilateral guidance on as to how nations develop and report their net zero commitments.

What would a good net zero governance look like, nationally and internationally? In this Oxford Net Zero webinar, fellows Selam Kidane Abebe and Kaya Axelsson, alongside expert contributors, will discuss national net zero regulation and the need for a multilateral guidance on net zero governance for governments.

How can coordinated mandates on net zero level the playing field and accelerate innovation across regions and the private sector?

Click here to find out more and register

According to the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) global air surface temperature for July 2023 was the highest on record for any month, going back to 1940. Multiple regions in the Northern Hemisphere experienced heatwaves and Southern Hemisphere regions experienced above average temperatures. The service has also confirmed that sea surface temperatures have been at a record high throughout May, June and July 2023 and has continued into August. The year so far (January to August) is the second warmest on record behind 2016, when there was a also a powerful warming El Niño event, as there has been in 2023.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres added to this news saying “Our planet has just endured a season of simmering -- the hottest summer on record. Climate breakdown has begun. Scientists have long warned what our fossil fuel addiction will unleash. Surging temperatures demand a surge in action. Leaders must turn up the heat now for climate solutions. We can still avoid the worst of climate chaos – and we don’t have a moment to lose,“

To read the story in full click here and for a deeper analysis of the data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) click here.

Image credit: Christian Julliard / Climate Visuals

New research into engagement with climate change has shown that whild it is often believed younger generations are more concerned by climate change, there has been a narrowing in the climate related beliefs and risk perceptions and the differences between generations are primarily in emotional engagement.

Click here to read more.

The benefits of healthy peatland have been well documented in recent years, particularly surrounding their role as critical carbon stores.

A recent study published in the journal of scientific reports adds to this understanding.

This study looked at the difference in the carbon storage potential of peatland versus the storage potential of trees among forested peatlands.

The study demonstrates that peat can have higher carbon storage capacities than trees, and confirms that most of the carbon stored in boreal forested peatlands in found in the peat layers.

To read the study in full, click here.

A study published in in the journal Ecological Solutions and Evidence has found that increasing the diversity of native plants in a single urban green space resulted in a sevenfold increase in the number of insect species in a locally managed site within a densely urbanised area of a city which had limited access to surrounding greenspace.

The study was conducted in Melbourne, Australia and adds to a growing body evidence around the benefits of urban wilding.

To read the study in full, click here.