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Climate change initiative welcomed

6th December 2007

The first report from a programme that will allow people to explore projections of climate change through the 21st century was welcomed by Environment Secretary Hilary Benn today. The sea level related material in the report was produced with the help and input of POL, our scientists and their research.

The £2 million Defra-funded programme consists of five reports and an interactive website, known as UKCIP08. The project will bring together climate science from the Met Office to provide information to decision makers, academics and others, on the current climate, possible future changes and adaptation. Its interactive website will provide customisable climate change projections when it launches in late 2008.

The first report from UKCIP08, The climate of the United Kingdom and recent trends, was published today. It states:

• Central England Temperature has risen by about a degree Celsius since the 1970s, with 2006 being the warmest yet. It is likely that there has been a significant influence from human activity on the recent warming.
• Sea surface temperatures around the UK coast have risen over the past three decades, by about 0.7°C.
• Severe windstorms around the UK have become more frequent in the past few decades, but no higher than levels seen at the beginning of the last century.

Regardless of strides taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the inertia of the climate system commits us to some change over the next few decades.

Hilary Benn said:

"As the breadth of countries gathered in Bali shows, climate change is the biggest challenge we face as a global community and to which no-one is immune. That is why leaving Bali with a roadmap that will shape future climate change agreements is essential."

"This report shows that climate change is happening in the UK - and it's happening now. All of us - governments, businesses and individuals - need to be able to plan for the future. This groundbreaking initiative, when completed in late 2008, will be designed to help people investigate the possible future climate at the click of a mouse."

"It will put us face to face with what the climate might look like in our own back yard and challenge us to think about how to adapt to the unavoidable impacts of climate change."

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Notes

The Proudman Oceanographic (POL) scientific research focuses on oceanography encompassing global sea-levels and geodesy, numerical modelling of continental shelf seas and coastal sediment processes. This research alongside activities of surveying, monitoring, data management and forecasting provides strategic support for the wider mission of the Natural Environment Research Council.

As a public funded body it is part of our remit to inform the public of the science and research undertaken at the laboratory. Attending events like the 'Ocean Awareness Weekend' at the Blue Planet Aquarium offers the opportunity for our scientists to meet members of the public and present the laboratory's work.

The Natural Environment Research Council is one of the UK's eight Research Councils. It uses a budget of about £ 350m a year to fund and carry out impartial scientific research in the sciences of the environment. NERC trains the next generation of independent environmental scientists. It is addressing some of the key questions facing mankind, such as global warming, renewable energy and sustainable economic development.