Media Isle of Man had the honour of being part of Energy Sustainability Centre's recent 'Roundtable' session, organised by MMC and hosted by Capital International Group.
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00:00We are roughly almost halfway into the Government's 2022-2027 Climate Change Plan that forms part of the strategy towards a wider ambition to achieve net zero by 2050.
00:14David, you've had a career studying the effects of weather patterns, climate change.
00:20What's been the keyness effects that you've seen affecting the island over those four decades?
00:26They're measured effects and they're absolutely in line with the international measurements as well.
00:33No part of the planet is immune from the effects of fossil fuel burning in the atmosphere and the effects on the oceans.
00:44Both of those aspects are measured on the Isle of Man.
00:47Just our local data since 1947, comparisons now, shows that, like other parts of the planet, our air temperatures year round,
00:59every month for the year, have lifted by at least a degree on the previous values that we had in the first two decades of that measuring period.
01:10And those relate to the so-called pre-industrial measurements as well that we have from the data sets from Douglas,
01:18where we've got temperature and rainfall records recorded there since 1878.
01:24So a long data set to compare with over degree of warming, air temperatures, some sea level rise of the order of between 20 and 30 centimetres of sea level rise in the Irish Sea.
01:39One of the other big impacts for the Isle of Man is the change of rainfall patterns and distribution.
01:45And we're now receiving 10 percent more rainfall in the autumn and winter months than what we're used to.
01:52And those months are already the wettest months of the year.
01:55So we don't need more days of heavy rain.
01:58The impacts from that have been well reported in the local media over the last several years.
02:05And more recently, we've just come off the back of the wettest April on record, not only on the Isle of Man, but across the British Isles.
02:14And approximately eight of the last 10 months, I've seen above average rainfall.
02:20And that's all the way back since July last year.
02:23We're having record breaking rainfall events any part of the year.
02:28And, you know, that's scary going forward for the increase to flood risk, especially for rural communities like the Isle of Man.
02:37And add on top of that our concerns about increased storminess of the atmosphere.
02:44We already have a windy place, which is a good resource to have.
02:48There's many benefits to have the wind, sustainable wind, which means that the Isle of Man and the Irish Sea is a place to have your renewable wind power.
02:57But the extreme wind events we don't really want because that has an impact on our transport systems, both by shipping and aviation.
03:07So there's a concern there. And indeed, the climate change atmosphere is more turbulent, more turbulent equals more rainfall.
03:16But as another measure that's been in the news recently, a turbulent atmosphere is also a dangerous place to have people moving around in.
03:26So you have clear air turbulence and you have weather related turbulence as a hazard to aviation.
03:32So these are all clear indicators to me in my career as a meteorologist working at an airport, living on the Isle of Man.
03:42The planet around us is changing rapidly and all countries need to do something about it as soon as possible.
03:51Lee, I'd be really interested to see, from an ecological perspective, is it mirrored by people at the Wildlife Trust?
04:01Yes, it is. And we are firmly in the camp that climate change is real.
04:06It is being accelerated by man and it's having an impact on wildlife and biodiversity and people.
04:14So if we accept that as we do, then we're fully behind climate change mitigation.
04:21And we also believe that the word opportunity has already been said and the word biosphere has already been said.
04:27I've written all over my sheet so I don't forget to reinforce that.
04:30We are the only whole nation biosphere in the world, we know that.
04:34We've got a disproportionately higher number of businesses that are here for our tax reasons.
04:41And those businesses now care about the environment. It's not too nice to do anymore.
04:45They genuinely, their customers want it.
04:48So we have a real opportunity to make our island nation what good looks like in terms of a global biosphere.
04:56And occasionally people will say to me, does it matter? Does it really matter? It's all about India and China.
05:04No, you need to get your spade and dig in and do your own back garden well.
05:08And if we all did that, the world would be a better place.
05:10And we have an example to be a leader, certainly in Ireland, certainly in British territory.
05:15So fully behind it.
05:16And then in terms of impact, climate change is having an impact.
05:20I could go down the rabbit hole with that.
05:22But it definitely is, we care about it.
05:25And then the challenge then is for us as an island nation biosphere,
05:30is making sure that we do the right and the appropriate technologies in the right places in the right way,
05:38so that we do it the best we can.
05:40Because we want to live here, don't we? We don't want people to disappear.
05:43So therefore, if we're going to do that, and we're going to be vibrant, and we're going to potentially grow,
05:47then we have to do it really well, really well researched, with people that know that they're going to do it well.
05:53And we have a fantastic model biosphere.
05:56I completely agree with you.
05:58I think we're a big employee, you guys are big employers here.
06:03But there's a real urgency and a real sense of wanting to do something in a positive way.
06:12What I think is very challenging, and what we haven't got right on our island,
06:17is that I don't see any central leadership.
06:19I don't see any enough central strategy for the island.
06:24There's no transport strategy for the island.
06:26We may or may not be ahead or behind the curve on taking advantage of the natural resources we have.
06:34We should be so much further forward than we really are.
06:37And what's happening, and what concerns me, is that there is a real desire to do something,
06:44so much so that we're all, in our own way, doing something,
06:47but it's not joined up, it's not connected,
06:50and it doesn't take full advantage of the opportunity that you've just set out, which is such a shame.
06:55We'll all continue to do the things that we can do to make a difference,
06:59but it's not making a big enough difference to stand up and really be counted, is my concern.
07:04And I don't know how we solve that.
07:06So whose responsibility is it?
07:08It's government's responsibility.
07:10Absolutely government's responsibility to set the stakes in the sand
07:14and make them assertive, aggressive, and go for it.
07:18And I think if that was to happen more aggressively,
07:22there would be a galvanisation around a path that would allow us to get ahead.
07:27Instead of which, there is a broad strategy,
07:30and we're all told that we'll be there by 2050,
07:33but between now and then, it's kind of down to you guys to do what you want to do.
07:36And I don't think that's the right way forward.
07:38So it's the private sector then.
07:40So if government aren't giving the direction, but they've given a broad brush,
07:44so, look guys, this is the way we're going,
07:46I suppose my question is, what else can the likes of we do,
07:49what else can private sector do, what else can third sector do,
07:52to maybe come together, to maybe...
07:55Well, I can only talk to the experiences that we have.
08:00Our single biggest mission is commuting.
08:03We employ people, we don't make anything, we employ people.
08:07We can offset our electricity, we can do all sorts of things to reduce it,
08:12but that's not our big mission.
08:14There is no commuting strategy on the Isle of Man.
08:18I can go out to my staff and my team, as I do,
08:21and convey the benefits of an electric vehicle,
08:24but I can't force you to go out and buy one.
08:27I can't force you to park and ride.
08:30I can't force you to reduce the amount of time that you spend in your car.
08:34I don't have the power to do that.
08:36Government has the power to make a difference,
08:38and it needs to, it desperately needs to, to get rid of the curse.
08:43So more regulation, in a way.
08:45Yes, in a way.
08:47You have to provide alternatives.
08:50You can't just prevent.
08:52You have to provide facility,
08:55and I don't think there's enough of that taking place,
08:58and I think 2050 is just, it's not in my lifetime,
09:01in terms of my business lifetime.
09:03So I'll do what I can, but I'm not really going to shift the needle in this decade,
09:08and yet the climate is changing now,
09:11and we've known about it for the last two decades,
09:13and it's not just a mountain problem, it's a UK problem,
09:16and it's a global problem,
09:18but I find it really frustrating that private industry wants to do more,
09:23and it's left largely on its own,
09:25and that means it's a very scattered approach to solving the problems,
09:29which is a real shame.
09:31An opportunity.
09:33I don't think I'm breaking confidence, I'm sure I'm not.
09:35I might be.
09:38I was part of a three-person panel featuring from Lloyds,
09:42Gale Corridor and UCM,
09:44as part of a biosphere renewed panel,
09:46and we made some recommendations about how we take biosphere to the next level,
09:50and changes are afoot, I think really positive ones,
09:53and I think there'll be opportunities coming quite soon, very soon,
09:57for people, potentially those around this table and others,
10:01to take a leadership role in how biosphere goes forward,
10:05and I think we really feel that this needs to not be a comms project buried in debt,
10:12and it needs to be raised up again,
10:14so that senior people from government departments,
10:16senior people from industry, senior NGO backers,
10:19are at the table with some empowerment to actually try and drive initiatives.
10:25My last point, but I'm biting my lip again,
10:27is that we need to stop talking about an island plan,
10:30and a biosphere plan.
10:32Yeah, I agree.
10:33It's a national plan.
10:34Yes, it's a national plan.
10:36It's a national plan that we all need to get behind,
10:39and so there's got to be something in it for everyone,
10:41and I just don't see that at the moment.
10:43So from third sector focus,
10:46we've talked about from a business focus,
10:49and government should be taking the lead,
10:51are government taking enough lead from third sector
10:55in looking after the environment and being responsible,
10:58socially responsible or anything?
11:02There's always opportunity to do more.
11:06I try not to criticise.
11:08It's just my default approach,
11:10and nothing's perfect,
11:12and of course governments can do more,
11:14but they have long lists.
11:15But I think there is opportunities,
11:17and I think certainly in my tenure at the Wildlife Trust,
11:19when I arrived,
11:20a lot of people associated with the Wildlife Trust said,
11:23oh, you know, government aren't doing that,
11:25they need to do that.
11:26And I believe I've been a factor in changing that culture
11:29into people saying, we can do that.
11:31We can go and set a carbon offset scheme up.
11:33We can go and buy land and plant trees on it.
11:35We can go and designate wildlife sites.
11:37We can go and do that.
11:39And that's been a step change in how we've worked
11:42as a charity in the last four years,
11:43that we don't have to do it.
11:45It's what the government don't want to do.
11:47And actually we're a line behind the flag, so to speak.
11:50There's an island biodiversity strategy,
11:51so nothing we're doing is against
11:53what the government's already signed off on
11:55that we want the island to do.
11:56Instead of saying, government do it,
11:58we're saying, what can we do?
11:59And we're then finding that businesses like yourselves
12:02are saying, we'd like to help you do that, Lee.
12:04And here's some money to go and do that,
12:06because we're helping the island.
12:07And that's where I think we can be a bit more fleet of foot.
12:11And I want to just temper slightly.
12:15I think government, it's not so much about government
12:19taking a lead, as you put it.
12:21I think it's more about the framework.
12:23And I don't think there's a strong enough framework.
12:26I think if we were clear about what the island's position
12:30was going to be in five and ten years out from now,
12:34it would be much easier for private business
12:36to galvanise around that framework.
12:38And then business and all sectors would take the lead.
12:43I don't think, and that does require some regulations,
12:46no doubt about it.
12:47And so there are some things that only government can do.
12:49But what's important is that there needs to be
12:52a clarity of the direction of travel.
12:54And that does need to be set by government
12:57with some aggressive timelines to force change.
13:02Otherwise, we've all got businesses to run.
13:05We understand all of the dynamics that are going on.
13:08But at the end of the day, we've got to meet a bottom line.
13:11And I just think that there's too much slack
13:14in between at the moment.
13:15And so we're all doing the things that we want to do
13:18that is all over the place.
13:20And therefore not driving to a point in the future
13:23that is more holistic in terms of the national plan.
13:29Ralph, just from your charity's point of view,
13:32from the S point of view,
13:34and it's a broader church,
13:35but it crosses over third sector, business, individuals,
13:38do you think the general public understand
13:43the need for the change that we're discussing around the table?
13:47No, no, they don't.
13:49But I do think what Lee has identified
13:51is the best way forward.
13:53I do think telling government what to do won't work,
13:57doesn't work,
13:58but people do fall into that trap, unfortunately,
14:00because they want to help,
14:02but we end up telling government what to do
14:04and that really doesn't work.
14:06And so when Banks Wildlife Trust did come through
14:10with their ideas, that was welcome.
14:12And that's been quite a good collaboration
14:14with government on that.
14:16So the idea of the public being understood,
14:20that is what ESC is about.
14:22We're trying to bring the corporate world,
14:26the private sector and the public together
14:29with improved understanding.
14:31And we have got strategies around that.
14:34So we are working on a new model for the energy system
14:37for the island,
14:38which the public as well as businesses
14:40will be able to understand
14:41and be able to start to understand
14:44how the energy system works
14:46and what actually happens at the end of it.
14:48If you put in renewable energy, storage system,
14:51how much would that cost for your kilowatt hour?
14:54That will be a big step forward
14:55for the public to understand
14:56and that will also help government
14:58as well as corporate, private sector as well.
15:01Once that level of understanding
15:02has been improved a little bit over the next year,
15:06that is the time that the public start asking
15:08the right questions
15:09because at the moment,
15:10the public don't know the questions to ask.
15:12It's a really big subject, very complicated.
15:15And I think what Anthony's first point was
15:17about why is it taking so long,
15:19I think what I saw in politics
15:22was the MUA have come from a position of strength.
15:25They have had a fantastic 20, 25 years
15:28of delivering electricity
15:30and they didn't want to really give that up.
15:33And so a lot of things that have happened over the 20 years
15:36have been quite high risk to them.
15:38So they have been moving away
15:39from their delivery of electricity,
15:41100% delivered electricity,
15:43and they didn't want to let that go.
15:44But the world has changed now
15:46and so climate change act is now in place in the Isle of Man,
15:49so they're having to do that.
15:50So a little bit more risk,
15:53but the great thing is that we know,
15:56and John does as well,
15:57the MUA are now looking at other areas around the world
16:00and that really is great to hear.
16:02They've just been away to Denmark,
16:04so they've actually seen it for themselves now.
16:06There are islands in the Northern Hemisphere
16:09which are 100% electricity from renewable energy.
16:14That's a great start.
16:15And the Isle of Man could be like that.
16:16John can supply enough energy for the Isle of Man's needs.
16:19That's the opportunity we've got.
16:21If we can try and make the Isle of Man that energy hub,
16:23we can then really be not only a player
16:27in the renewable market,
16:30but also in income as well.
16:32So that would be a new income
16:33and again, that would be a retractable place
16:35for people to live and work.