IT SEEMS hardly a day goes by when the issue of climate change doesn't feature in the news.

The implications of how the environment is changing on an international level are well documented, but what does it mean for the Sevenoaks area?

In a series of features the Chronicle will be looking at what is happening across the district and what we can all do to help.

STEVE Plater has to think carefully before answering the question, and when he does his response is measured but to the point.

"At a national and local level the cost of food will rise and the continued supply of food is not guaranteed," he said.

"The Government continues to assume that, as a trading nation, we can buy what we need on the world market, but that assumes there's something to buy and other countries will sell us their food instead of eating it.

"We're going to need to make changes to the way we live, but it's an opportunity to do that in a way that gets us to a better place."

An increase in the cost of food is just one adverse effect associated with climate change that will hit the people of Sevenoaks.

With increasing levels of drought and flooding, food supply will inevitably be threatened.

Mr Plater, who is a member of Sevenoaks Transition Towns, an organisation concerned with dealing with the effects of climate change, believes residents need to start thinking about making changes to the way they live before it is too late.

One of the group's key areas of attention is to look at ways of diversifying sources of energy, with a focus on renewables.

In recent years the country has seen astronomical rises in the cost of fossil fuels. The discovery of oil peaked in 1966 and demand is expected to outstrip supply within the next 10 to 15 years, which will lead to prices soaring ever higher.

"Climate change means we need to cut carbon emissions and peak oil means we need to reduce energy from fossil fuels," said Mr Plater.

"They're two sides of the same coin." As a result of climate change we can expect to see higher temperatures and extreme weather conditions such as hurricanes and flooding.

This has implications for the survival of species that are native to this area. Chairman of Kent Wildlife Trust John Bennett said: "With or without climate change our natural environment is under huge pressure."

He believed projects such as Living Landscapes, which seek to manage our countryside better, will help what we have left.

"To some extent change is a natural part of our wider environment and our natural systems have to cope, but some of the changes we're seeing are very rapid," he said. "One doesn't want to speculate about the causes of climate change, but we need to be aware that it's happening and we need to ensure our environment is strong enough to handle what's coming.

"There's quite a lot of scientific background behind our approach.

"Our ruling vision is rebuilding our landscape so natural systems have got the ability to be flexible."

We are now seeing species such as the heath fritillary butterfly, once common in Kent, moving further north.

To be able to do this they need natural habitat corridors – something the wildlife trust is keen to create more of. Animals need to be able to move in response to changing pressures," said Mr Bennett.

"They might move to middle, or northern England, but they need a friendly landscape to move through and that's where Living Landscape comes in."

Other species such as the red damselfly are moving in to Kent from Europe – a change that has also happened quickly.

"It was rare in the UK before the late 1990s and now it's really quite common," said Mr Bennett.

The wasp spider is also becoming more of a common sight due to longer, warmer autumns.

Native birds, such as the blue tit, could also be affected by climate change.

Caterpillars, a key source of food for their young, are now hatching later although the birds themselves continue to breed in the spring.

As a consequence the young may be left without their main source of food. Mr Bennett argued there had been an assault on natural habitats through new houses and roads.

While the Living Landscapes project could help arrest this decline, it is vital future development is done with a firm eye on protecting and enhancing natural habitats.

"We would argue that no countryside should be sacrificed to development," said Mr Bennett.

"We need to work very hard to ensure Kent's countryside is given proper priority alongside other considerations."

Similarly, any plans to eat into the Green Belt – which makes up 93 per cent of the Sevenoaks district – should be dismissed out of hand, he said.

Although primarily a planning tool to stop London spreading into Kent, Mr Bennett said the Green Belt had done an excellent job in helping preserve the area.

Whereas the situation with the environment is clearly a major concern, Mr Bennett was keen to point out it is not all bad news.

Recent changes to the way we manage our environment, such as a ban on gamekeepers killing birds of prey, have resulted in an increase to some native species such as the honey buzzard.

"People working together can make a difference for the future," he said.