Climate Change Events:
If you are holding a climate change impacts/adaptation event in the South West, do let us know by sending an email to swccip@environment-agency.gov.uk.
Need to give a power point presentation on climate change? SWCCIP has published on the archive page of our website resources for presentations: these include a generic SWCCIP presentation on climate change impacts in South West for you to use/customise if you wish, together with a plethora of slides on climate
science, graphs, diagrams and key facts that you may find useful.
19-21 May 08 (CBI Conference Centre, London) Corporate Climate Response, London: The fourth annual Corporate Climate Response for London takes an in-depth look at two of the most pressing topics in climate response: The UK’s new mandatory carbon trading system and climate change’s impact on the food sector. Phil Woolas, MP, Minister for the Environment will is the keynote address at this high profile event.
For a detailed agenda and full list of speakers download the brochure by clicking here: www.greenpowerconferences.com (external site).
*(Current offers include: 3 delegates for the price of 2)
Key impacts of climate change for the South West
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The region is becoming warmer and by the 2050s average temperatures may
be as much as 3.50C warmer in summer;
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High summer temperatures are becoming more frequent, and very cold
winters are becoming increasingly rare;
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Winters are becoming wetter (a 5 - 20% increase is expected by the
2050s), whilst summers are becoming drier (10 - 40% decrease by the 2050s);
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Relative sea level continues to rise, and could be as much as 80cm higher by the 2080s;
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Changes to insurance costs and coverage are expected, in particular in
vulnerable geographic areas or economic sectors;
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Loss of habitats and indigenous species could occur as well as longer
growing seasons and increased potential for novel agricultural crops.
For
further information on the impacts of climate change on the SW see
Chapter 5 of the technical
report (pdf) to the SWCCIP scoping study "Warming
to the idea". On sea-level rise: Update to estimates of net sea-level change for the UK (regions). UKCIP has updated data from the UKCIP02 Scientific Report that provides estimates of regional net sea-level change. A map showing estimated net sea-level changes for the UK coast for the two
most extreme UKCIP02 scenarios is available at www.ukcip.org.uk/news_dets.asp?news_id=44.
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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
