Coastal Cymru

With Wales, the UK and many other nations now having policy targets to achieve 'zero net carbon' emissions by 2050, new ways are being developed to meet our energy demands. Wind power & solar farms are the technologies that we most often see in our day to day lives, but other sources of marine power such as wave, tide and current can also be harvested. In our May podcast, PCF CEO Steve Hall has three guests - first of all Kate Smith, Environmental Manager of Nova Innovation speaks about the tidal stream turbines they have developed to generate clean renewable energy at sea. Next up is Karen Seath, co-chair of the Society for Underwater Technology's international salvage & decommissioning committee, who talks about how the renewables sector will have learned from the experience of oil & gas companies how to safely remove all equipment at end of life, and indeed are obliged by law to do so.Finally we meet Josie Green, PCF's new marketing & communications manager who tells us how good it is to be back in her native Pembrokeshire to work with our team on delivering sustainable ocean and coast.In news commentary at the end, we mention the creation of a new Climate Change ministry in Wales led by Julie James and Lee Waters. Find out more about Pembrokeshire Coastal Forum here, and our Marine Energy Wales project here. Please subscribe, rate and review our podcast, contact Steve Hall or Josie Green with feedback, questions or offers to be interviewed for future episodes. 

Podcast 2, 1st April 2021 - 25 years ago, the Sea Empress Disaster led to thousands of tonnes of crude oil being spilled onto the beautiful coast of Pembrokeshire. It emphasised the need for better coastal zone management, and improved communication and mutual understanding between the people and businesses who operate very different kinds of industries in a beautiful and fragile coastal environment - in our case a coastal National Park that also hosts a major hydrocarbons port.In this podcast, Pembrokeshire Coastal Forum CEO Steve Hall interviews PCF Board Chair Nick Ainger, who at the time of Sea Empress was the local Member of Parliament, about the circumstances that led to the formation of PCF. We explore how things have progressed over the decades since then, and briefly look at the challenges Pembrokeshire now faces while Wales and the rest of the UK are still under coronavirus restrictions, meaning that many tourists who might normally holiday abroad will now come to the Welsh coast instead. We welcome them and the much-needed business they'll bring, at the same time recognising that large numbers congregating in the same spots brings challenges.We recommend that listeners view our timeline at www.pembrokeshirecoastalforum.org.uk/timeline to learn about the history of PCF.PCF home page is at www.pembrokeshirecoastalforum.org.uk Also with a walrus in the news visiting Pembrokeshire, a friendly reminder to follow the advice of the Pembrokeshire Marine Code when interacting with coastal wildlife - see www.pembrokeshiremarinecode.org.uk We'll be back in a few weeks with Podcast 3, please subscribe, rate and review and contact Steve Hall if you'd like to be featured in a future episode. Our thanks to Emily Boddy for podcast theme music and background sounds, © ℗ 2021 Emily Boddy. All rights reserved.

Coastal Cymru is brought to you by Pembrokeshire Coastal Forum, a community interest company in Wales established in the aftermath of the Sea Empress oil spill 25 years ago, focused on the delivery of sustainable coast and ocean, working with our community, industries and partners.In episode 1 CEO Steve Hall introduces the organisation and the scope of the new podcast, and interviews Alex Cameron-Smith who is our community and climate change engagement coordinator for the West Wales component of  CCAT - Coastal Communities Working together (find out more at https://www.ccatproject.eu ) and with Jess Hooper who leads on our Marine Energy Wales programme - find out more at our work on clean green renewables at https://www.marineenergywales.co.uk/ Thanks for listening! Please subscribe, rate and review and join us for regular episodes linking with a wide range of coastal issues that matter not only in Wales, but can bring lessons that will help coastal communities all over the world. Contact Steve Hall with feedback and questions, or to volunteer to be featured in a future episode . Thanks to Emily Boddy for composing and performing the podcast theme music.© ℗ 2021 Emily Boddy. All rights reserved.