Tuesday 10 January 2023

Lottery protects Cornwall from climate change with £2m

A Cornish coastal town is set to benefit from £2 million in funding to fight the impacts of climate change.

The funding has been made available by the National Lottery’s Climate Action Fund – and will see Bude stave off the rising sea levels it’s been experiencing in recent years.

Cornwall has been circled as an area of the UK that will be hit the hardest by climate change, with its proximity to the sea.

Storms also hit the region hard, with Storm Eunice causing real damage to Bude last year.

Building up resistance to storms, rising sea levels and coastal erosion will be the key focus of the new funding.

On providing the grant, the National Lottery’s Nick Gardner said: “Communities have a big role to play in tackling climate change locally and ultimately helping to move the UK towards net zero.”

Head of the Bude Climate Partnership, Robert Uhlig, added: “In effect, we're the UK's Maldives. Idyllic and beautiful but facing an existential and imminent threat to our way of life due to sea-level rise.

“With 70% of local businesses dependent on tourism, it’s imperative in a rapidly changing climate that we work together to ensure the sustainability of a sector that employs 40% of our workforce and defines our way of life.”