Background information
(updated to reflect 2003 UK climate data)
The world is warming
The world is warming. That much is certain. Global mean temperatures have risen about 0.6C since 1860 when systematic temperature records began. The 20th Century was probably the warmest in the past 1000 years. In the UK, eight of the last ten years
have been the warmest since records began, with 1999 and 1990 the two warmest years ever recorded. Globally, 2005 is one of the warmest years on record. As a result our climate is changing. 2003 saw the highest maximum temperature recorded in the UK (38.5oC at Brogdale, near Faversham in Kent).
There is evidence that rainfall patterns are changing, sea levels are rising, glaciers are retreating and arctic sea-ice is thinning. The incidence of extreme weather is also increasing in some parts of the world.
Researchers are confident that most of the warming is due to increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere. Concentrations of these gases have risen by some 50% in less than 200 years, largely through the burning of carbon rich fossil fuels and deforestation. The United Nations
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which involves several thousand of the world’s leading scientists, concluded in 2001 that ‘most of the Earth's warming observed in the last 50 years is attributable to human activities’. See also Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).
The UK response
"Evidence is growing that the UK climate is warming and we expect this trend to continue. The Government recognises the importance
of tackling climate change on two fronts: reducing greenhouse gas emissions to minimise the impact of climate change and planning for the climate change that we cannot avoid. Adaptation will be an essential
part of the response to the threat of climate change. Everyone involved in making investment and policy decisions in the public and private sectors needs to have access to the best estimates of how climate
change will affect the UK over the coming decades." - Margaret Beckett, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, April 2002.
The SW response
In the South West, key regional organisations took a decision in 2001/2 to consolidate the work on the impacts of climate change through the creation of a partnership
between key stakeholders. This is currently known as the South West Climate Change Impacts Partnership (SWCCIP). This builds upon successful work already carried out in the region, including
two successful conferences and related follow–up work. The mission for the partnership is: "to investigate, inform and advise on the impacts of climate change in SW England".
The initial task for the partnership has been to oversee the research, production and dissemination of a South West Region Climate Change Impact Scoping Study which has now been completed
(a link to the final scoping study report is on the left hand side of this page). A Steering Group (subsequently renamed as the SWCCIP Forum) was created to oversee the production of this study, co-ordinated by the Regional
Office of the Environment Agency, and included representatives of all levels of government, the business community and Non Governmental Organisations. The Forum continues to steer the ongoing work of the partnership.
South West Climate Change Impacts Partnership
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