When a forest fire rages, one option is to simply start another fire: a controlled burn of trees and shrubs, to deny further fuel. It is literally fighting fire with fire.
This week, as heavy rainfall claimed lives in Indonesia and the UK, and swept away homes and power in Oregon and northern California, politicians and public once again asked what can be done about flooding.
One radical solution can be found in nature, because you can fight floods with more floods.
A decade ago, in Somerset, western England, a flood-prone patch of the Steart Peninsula, in the National Trust’s Holnicote Estate, was surrendered to the sea. A 200m gap was bulldozed through flood defences, farmland surrendered, and the waters allowed to flow.
But now, when the tide rises high in those parts, instead of filling living rooms, it flows in to salt marshes. These act as a giant sponge, soaking up water, slowing its progress and protecting flood-prone villages nearby.
It is an extension of an idea from The Netherlands, called ‘room for the river’: if you can’t stop the flood, you give it somewhere to go.
Realists may point out that the bigger fix is tackling the climate change that causes extreme weather, and they would be right. But the Steart project is a model for the UK and elsewhere. These wetlands protect inland areas, act as a carbon sink, and give a new home to bird life.
Such schemes will not work everywhere, but The Conduit exists to highlight new solutions and bring together the people who can make them happen.
Nature-based fixes, often part-funded by the insurance industry, are a growing part of the global arsenal against climate change. If you’d like to know more about how that can work, see our recent talk here. And we will be bringing together more key changemakers next year, through our Climate and Insurance conference. To see what else we have planned in 2025, click here.
Flatulent cows are a well-known contributor to climate change. The methane released by livestock is an even more potent greenhouse gas than CO2. But there may be a solution. Ag-biotech company ArkeaBio is testing a drug that targets methane-producing microorganisms in animals’ saliva and digestive tracks. The drug is still two and a half years away from being market-ready. But if it works, this could be a game changer.
IN NUMBERS
$1.8tn
Total global clean energy investment for 2023, up 17% from 2022 according to BloombergNEF. China led the way, with $676 billion spent last year, though their spending increase was modest compared to the US, UK and Europe.
ETHICAL DESIRES
BOOKS
Eight Weeks
LOLA YOUNG
Baroness Young of Hornsey is one of the first Black women to sit in the House of Lords. But her early life began in care, from eight weeks old until age eighteen. Looking through her memories and records, she reflects on a childhood spent in a system that repeatedly failed her, and how this has influenced her work as an activist, academic and actress. Buy here.
TRAVEL
Peace of salt
The salt marshes of the northern Netherlands have become a tourist hotspot, following the opening of Het Ziltepad, a trail that that traverses two of the country’s most sparsely populated provinces. Visitors are invited to visit the repurposed churches of the region, which have been transformed into cafes, studios and accommodation, in a move led by Alde Fryske Tsjerken and Groninger Kerken. Time to get your walking boots on?
WHAT'S ON
Someone's Daughter, Someone's Son
Renowned filmmaker Lorna Tucker was once a teenage runaway, sleeping rough on the streets of London. As record numbers continue to face homelessness, Tucker's latest documentary sees her revisit the places she slept, and speak to current and former homeless people to see where the system is working – and failing– to end this crisis.
This year, we’ve hosted over 1,000 activists, innovators, and thought leaders at events tackling global challenges – from the refugee crisis to a just green transition. And we’re just getting started.
The line-up for 2025 is here, click below to learn what to expect, including The Conduit's first ever festival.
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