Talking about the climate can feel overwhelming as though nothing we do will make a difference.

Today I’m going to help you see how we can all tackle the climate crisis, by explaining common climate terms in plain English, showing how they relate to everyday life, and highlighting the positive action we can take that will make a difference.

Climate resilience, adaptation and mitigation

Have you noticed that some streets stay cool in a heatwave and others don’t?

Climate resilience is our ability to cope with and adapt to changing weather, while reducing the impacts of climate change on people, nature and places. 

In order to build climate resilience, we must adapt what we do. Climate adaptation refers to the actions and strategies taken to adjust to the actual (or expected) effects of climate change. 

This can include street trees for shade, creating wildflower verges for pollinators, using rain gardens and ponds to absorb heavy rainfall and connecting green spaces to form wildlife corridors.

Climate mitigation addresses the cause of climate change, rather than cope with the effects. Climate mitigation aims to reduce climate change impacts by cutting emissions and increasing carbon storage (for example).

Carbon sequestration

Carbon sequestration is the process of removing carbon dioxide from the air and storing it naturally in trees, plants and healthy soils.

The higher the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air/ atmosphere, the faster the climate warms teh greenhouse effect. Protecting and restoring nature helps to absorb and store carbon, but planting trees alone cannot offset human-caused emissions. Tackling climate change requires action at individual, community, regional, national and global levels.

Urban Heat Island and heat risk

Paved over gardens and fake grass reduces water absorption and increases urban heating, especially during heatwaves. 

The combination of lots of concrete, asphalt and bricked surfaces, less greenery,  more astroturf, tall buildings, cars, air conditioning and general industrial activity in built-up areas raises temperatures. 

This is known as the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect and is particularly noticeable during heatwaves. Knock-on effects include disrupted ecosystems and risk to wildlife, reduced air quality, intensifying daytime temperature extremes and raising minimal night-time temperatures, which increases health risks to vulnerable populations and energy use through air conditioning.

Coping with UHI effect requires major input at a planning and policy level, including incorporating nature based solutions like planting more street trees (like Rowan trees) and growing green walls (vertical planting). And these are actions we can do at home too, as greener streets are more attractive, improve air quality, reduce flooding risk, help manage/cool the temperature and increase property value. 

Grow a green roof over bin covers, grow plants in containers, and train climbing plants up your sunniest walls. If you're thinking about a driveway makeover, you could replace tarmac with permeable paving or gravel and incorporate plants into the design where possible. 

Permaculture

Permaculture is a fancy word for common sense. It’s about working with nature and uses natural cycles and ecosystems to make decisions about what to grow and how the land is managed. These principles can be applied to any scale from small gardens and allotments, to community spaces and farms. 

Examples include no dig beds, composting, hedgerow creation, deliberate wild areas and wild edges, not using chemicals and creating habitats such as mini meadows, ponds and dead hedges. 

Flood risk

Prolonged dry periods can cause soils to dry out and 'compact' which reduces their ability to absorb water. During heavy rainfall, this increases the risk of surface runoff and flash flooding, as the capacity in local rivers and streams is quickly overwhelmed.

Summary

Climate change is already affecting daily life. Climate resilience requires all of us to adapt together through informed action, nature-based solutions, and community-led planning to reduce local impacts while supporting broader climate action.