APPENDIX 4
Memorandum submitted by English Nature
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
English Nature welcomes the commitment demonstrated
by the UK Government in tackling climate change and its mitigation,
and the international lead it has taken over many related issues.
We strongly support the use of innovative fiscal
measures, such as trading schemes and tax instruments, which serve
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It is essential that the transport
sector, including air travel, is subject to such measures.
We are concerned that the UK has not adequately
or explicitly addressed the need for adaptation measures to accommodate
the inevitable effects of climate change over the next 50 years
or more.
Adaption measures should be robust, cross-sectoral,
integrated and holistic. Explicit recognition of climate change
in spatial policies and environmental protection measures is essential
in this context.
From a biodiversity perspective, accommodating
changing species' distribution in response to climate change will
be a key challenge for conservation. We believe this can be achieved
by incorporating climate change considerations into spatial planning
policies (eg PPS9 and Regional Spatial Strategies), and in agri-environment
policy objectives thereby reducing habitat fragmentation at a
landscape scale.
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 English Nature is the statutory body
that champions the conservation and enhancement of the wildlife
and geological features of England. We work for wildlife in partnership
with others by:
— advising—Government, other
agencies, local authorities, interest groups, business communities,
individuals on nature conservation in England;
— regulating—activities affecting
the special nature conservation sites in England;
— enabling—others to manage land
for nature conservation, through grants, projects and information;
— enthusing—and advocating nature
conservation for all and biodiversity as a key test of sustainable
development.
1.2 We have statutory responsibilities for
nationally-important nature conservation sites: Sites of Special
Scientific Interest, the most important of which are managed as
National Nature Reserves.
1.3 Through the Joint Nature Conservation
Committee, we work with sister organisations in Scotland, Wales
and Northern Ireland to advise Government on UK and international
nature conservation issues.
2. GENERAL COMMENTS
2.1 Climate change is likely to be the most
significant and far-reaching environmental threat to have faced
the Earth in its recent history. Greenhouse gas emissions from
human activities are accelerating what was a natural process and
scientific evidence suggests that we are currently committed to
at least 50 years of rapid climate changes (and an average warming
of 1.5oC in that time). In the longer-term, the amount of climate
change will be determined by decisions made now about the management
of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. The Kyoto Protocol has
raised the political profile of the need to reduce emissions,
but the targets agreed so far are too modest to have any real
effect on the warming trend. However, many see such mitigation
measures as being the solution to the climate problem, whilst
the need to adapt to the more immediate and inevitable impacts
of climate change is often overlooked.
2.2 Our evidence is, therefore, predominantly
concerned with the inquiry question which explores the approach
and specific objectives that the UK Government should adopt during
its presidency of the G8 and EU in 2005. Here, we advocate the
need for robust sectoral and cross-sectoral adaptation policies
to accommodate the inevitable impacts of climate change.
3. MITIGATION
MEASURES AND
EMISSIONS TRADING
3.1 Climate mitigation is aimed at driving
down greenhouse gas emissions in an attempt to manage atmospheric
concentrations of these gases at sustainable levels—both
in terms of environmental and socio-economic well-being. But due
to the lengthy activity times of greenhouse gases once in the
atmosphere, the effects of mitigation measures, although essential
in moderating climate change in the long term, are unlikely to
be realised until well into the second half of this century.
3.2 We welcome the commitment demonstrated
by the UK Government in tackling climate change and its mitigation,
and the international lead it has taken over many related issues.
The UK has a high profile role in international negotiations under
the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and its policy framework
is firmly focussed on the achievement of ambitious Kyoto targets.
3.3 We strongly support the use of innovative
fiscal measures, such as trading schemes and tax instruments,
which serve to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It is essential
that the transport sector, including air travel, is subject to
such measures. We have no specific comments on the technical or
political feasibility of ETS.
4. APPROACH AND
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES:
THE NEED
FOR ADAPTATION
MEASURES
4.1 We are concerned that the UK has not
adequately or explicitly addressed the need for adaptation measures
to accommodate the inevitable effects of climate change over the
next 50 years or more. The comments which follow essentially relate
to this issue.
4.2 The potential effects of climate change
are not widely understood. The concept of "global warming"
has emerged as a popular euphemism for climate change. But temperature
rise is one of a range of consequences of human intervention in
the global climate system. Warming is being accompanied by changing
precipitation patterns, increasing frequencies of extreme weather
(storms, floods, drought) and rising sea levels (as ice sheets
and glaciers melt, and as sea water expands in response to higher
temperatures).
4.3 Cause and effect relationships, predicted
impacts and the urgency with which these need to be addressed
are not widely appreciated by policy/decision makers or amongst
the public at large. For many, climate change is seen as a long
term problem with no immediate relevance. However, the implications
are already evident and will become more acute in decades to come.
4.4 Humankind has no option but to develop
measures to adapt to climate change—now. It is already having
marked impacts on the environment, societies and economies. Direct
effects are being witnessed on, for example, biodiversity, coastal
processes, human health, buildings, water resources, rural land
use patterns and the insurance industry. Indirect impacts are
influencing other sectors and areas of activity.
4.5 Clearly, to adequately address the more
immediate impacts of climate change, adaptation measures should
be cross-sectoral, integrated and holistic. Explicit recognition
of climate change in spatial policies and environmental protection
measures is essential in this context. From a biodiversity perspective,
accommodating changing species' distribution in response to climate
change will be a key challenge for conservation. We believe this
can be achieved by incorporating climate change considerations
into spatial planning policies (eg PPS9 and Regional Spatial Strategies),
and in agri-environment policy objectives thereby reducing habitat
fragmentation at a landscape scale. Conservation strategies for
protected areas and wider landscapes would then be set alongside
policies for land use and coastal change and water resource management,
providing an effective framework for informed decision making.
4.6 The future impacts of climate change
are the subject of a growing field of research. Typically, such
assessments use sophisticated computer models to simulate responses
under a range of climate scenarios. Simulation models provide
increasingly robust output data which should enable policy/decision
makers to begin to address "adaptation" in the context
of climate change. Whilst not yet being able to ascribe statistical
certainty to any one prediction, models are able to provide a
range of scenarios (least-worst to worst-worst) against which
no-regrets options can be formulated. The English Nature-led MONARCH
project (Modelling Natural Resource Responses to Climate Change)
is an example of this type of assessment. MONARCH simulates the
potential impacts of climate change on species, habitats and ecosystems
and the model outputs are used to inform nature conservation policy
and practice in Britain and Ireland.
25 October 2004
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