Memorandum submitted by the South East
Climate Change Partnership (U18)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1. The South East Climate Change Partnership
promotes adaptive planning for the likely impacts of climate change
in our region and has recently published research findings on
impacts in key sectors and potential adaptation strategies.
2. Climate change presents twin challenges—the
need to mitigate future change and to adapt to unavoidable change
as a result of past and current emissions. Awareness of the inevitability
of some climate change over the next few decades is poor, and
there are a number of dangerous misconceptions about the need
to plan now so that we can adapt to this.
3. Considerable research has been undertaken
on this—including studies within all regions of the UK—and
this knowledge needs to be developed and put into effect by public,
private and non-profit organisations. Planning for the impacts
of climate change will involve decisions with long-term implications
and a wide range of stakeholders, whose actions will impact on
each other. Responses need to be strategic and to link with mitigation
activities.
4. Organisations will need to call on tools
and guidance in planning their adaptation responses and regional
partnership are an effective way of developing and delivering
this.
5. SECCP recommends that the Committee:
— Reflect the critical importance of
climate change adaptation as well as mitigation in its examination
of national policy, and thus to lay the ground for strengthening
of the adaptation elements of the UK Climate Change Programme
in the Government's review later this year and next.
— Give close attention to the extent
to which awareness of climate change impacts is addressed explicitly
in a range of national policies, and does not confine itself to
UK climate change policy per se. This examination should
reflect differing regional needs.
— Address the need for support to UK
industry, public bodies and non-profit organisations to help them
work constructively and together towards a climate-resilient society,
including adequate resources for effective public awareness campaigns
to motivate personal and business adaptation actions. To ensure
effective delivery of this support, Government departments should
be encouraged to work with each of the regional partnerships,
including appropriate financial support for specific activities.
INTRODUCTION
6. The South East Climate Change Partnership
(SECCP) brings together a wide range of public, private and non-profit
sector organisations to promote adaptive planning in anticipation
of the likely impacts of climate change in our region. We welcome
the decision by the Committee to examine the policies of the UK
Government to address the challenges of climate change, and are
grateful for this opportunity to submit written evidence.
7. We have recently published findings from
a new research project—commissioned and funded on our behalf
by the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA). The South
East Climate Threats and Opportunities Research Study (SECTORS)
analysed the responses to climate change across eight key sectors
in the region and recommended a set of strategic approaches, climate
change indicators and areas for further research. This work built
on our 1999 scoping study of climate change impacts for the region,
Rising to the Challenge.
8. Further information on SECCP and our
work is provided in Appendix 1 [not printed]. Appendix 2 contains
our recent recommendations to the South East England Regional
Assembly (SEERA) on climate change criteria for the forthcoming
South East Plan, the regional spatial strategy. The need to address
adaptation in climate change policy.
9. The UK, like all nations, faces twin
challenges from climate change: the need to mitigate future changes,
for example through reductions in greenhouse gas emissions; and
the need to adapt to levels of climate change which are now unavoidable.
Some climate change is inevitable for much of this century because
of the legacy of past emissions, the certainty that some emissions
will continue—even if much reduced levels are achieved—and
the complexity of the climate system; the climate takes many decades
or longer to come into equilibrium at higher concentrations of
greenhouse gases and is influenced by a range of natural factors
as well as human causes.
10. The case for mitigation has yet to be
accepted by all governments around the world—and it is not
reflected adequately yet in action on the ground in those countries
where it has been acknowledged, including the UK. Nevertheless,
the need for action is generally understood and is expressed in
international, EU and UK policy and in the policies of an increasing
number of public, private and voluntary sector organisations.
The current UK Climate Change Programme made an excellent start,
but there are doubts as to whether the pace of implementation
is adequate. Likewise, public awareness of the importance of climate
change and mitigation has grown over recent years—although
this is not reflected in an appetite for difficult decisions in
our personal, business or political lives There is a need for
effective publicity which links awareness raising with climate
change implications for personal lifestyles and business.
11. While it is true that the UK Climate
Change Programme recognises the importance of adaptation alongside
mitigation, there is comparatively poor awareness among policy
makers at all levels—and among professionals and the public—that
some climate change is already occurring and that more extensive
change is inevitable within the lifetimes of all those alive today.
Awareness of the ways in which this will impact on our quality
of life and how we can plan now to adapt to the threats and the
opportunities is therefore also very low. Government support for
promoting adaptation appears to be limited.
12. There has been a tendency to see adapting
to climate change—rather than mitigating it—in one
(or more) of the following ways:
— as "defeatism": "Climate
change can be stopped and we mustn't divert attention from the
need for mitigation and to engage the USA and Russia in this."
— as being too difficult: "There
is too much uncertainty about future climate change; what exactly
should we be planning for? We need better information."
— (conversely) as not requiring a specific
response, because adaptation is an automatic activity: "Everything
is always changing and we are always adapting, so we don't need
to plan for climate change."
— as being unnecessary: "Climate
change is all down to natural causes. This is nothing new."
13. These are all misconceptions. Although
concerted global mitigation action will enable us to avoid the
most extreme climate change projected for the end of this century,
the legacy of past emissions and the inertia of the climate system
mean that our climate will continue to change for many decades—and
would do so even if all fossil fuel consumption and agricultural
emissions ceased across the globe today. The level of uncertainty
about future climate change is manageable—in the same way
that we manage in the face of considerable uncertainty about basic
economic and social trends. However, the first step is to recognise
that climate is not merely another variable in our planning. Although
there has always been natural climate variability and society
has adapted to this in the past (often at social and economic
cost over generations), the scale and speed of the change we are
facing now is completely unprecedented in human experience, and
results largely from human activities. With the interconnectedness
of today's global economy and the rate of development in all societies,
more is at stake for more of us if we do not face up to climate
change impacts now and plan for them. Climate change will compound
existing challenges in global food and energy production, water
availability and distribution, economic competitiveness, security
and migration.
14. In reality, therefore, the twin challenges
of climate change are both urgent and have major implications
for sustainable development in the UK and around the world and
require clear commitment from policy makers, practitioners and
the public. Actions to promote mitigation and adaptation need
to be integrated with each other and across a diverse set of agendas
and stakeholders.
15. SECCP therefore strongly urges the Committee
to reflect the critical importance of climate change adaptation
as well as mitigation in its examination of national policy, and
thus to lay the ground for strengthening of the adaptation elements
of the UK Climate Change Programme in the Government's review
later this year and next.
Climate change impacts
16. Through the work of the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change and research centres throughout the world,
our knowledge of the probable course of future climate change
and of its impacts has improved significantly over past years.
The UK has played a leading role in this, not least through the
work of the UK Climate Impacts Programme, the Hadley Centre for
Climate Prediction and the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research.
17. The UKCIP02 UK climate change scenarios
demonstrate the seasonal and geographical distribution of changes
to key climate variables across a range of possible greenhouse
gas emission trends. The scenarios highlight the wide range of
impacts: for example, flooding and water shortages, but also including
growing seasons for crops and pests, soil subsidence and heave,
storm damage and human health and comfort.
18. A growing number of research studies,
based on UKCIP02 or earlier scenarios, have assessed the likely
impacts on social, economic or environmental concerns, using both
"hard science" and the views and practical responses
of stakeholders. Much of this work has been commissioned and funded
through central or devolved governments, research councils, the
private sector or regional climate change partnerships such as
SECCP.
19. Each region of the UK has now undertaken
a scoping study of the possible impacts for them. In the South
East, Rising to the Challenge highlighted the issues for managing
our countryside, coasts and rivers, heritage and economy. SECTORS
has built on this with stakeholder analysis and recommendations
for agriculture and forestry, biodiversity, business and economy,
emergency planning, health, land use planning, tourism and utilities
& infrastructure.
20. Together, this body of work provides
valuable knowledge. It is essential that all tiers of government,
public agencies, industry and commerce and the non-profit sectors
use this and their own expertise to devise and put into practice
effective strategies for how they will adapt to climate change—for
their own benefit and that of their key stakeholders and the general
public. The impacts of climate change will include opportunities
as well as threats, and it is important that planning is in place
to help us to take advantage of change as well as protect ourselves
from increasing risk.
21. Long-term decisions are being taken
now—on buildings and infrastructure, trade, and many of
the other issues identified in paragraphs 17 and 19—based
on projections of future demand, capacity and constraints. Assumptions
about climate are built into these decisions—and unless
explicit consideration is given to what we now know about climate
change, the common assumption will be that the future will bring
more of the same. That assumption is highly risky, potentially
dangerous and must be addressed through policy, based on the best
available research.
22. Regional differences within the UK will
play an important part in how climate change actually affects
organisations and individuals. The UKCIP02 scenarios show that
changes in temperature, precipitation, sea level rise and other
key variables will differ—with changes generally more pronounced
in southern and eastern regions than in northern and western ones.
But vulnerability to impacts will also depend on very local conditions
and on the degree to which resilience is already—or can
be—built into local services. It is therefore important
that policy is able to support flexibility in responding to climate
change.
23. SECCP therefore recommends that the
Committee give close attention to the extent to which awareness
of climate change impacts is addressed explicitly in a range of
national policies, and does not confine itself to UK climate change
policy per se. This examination should reflect differing
regional needs.
Adapting our approach to climate change
24. Organisations and individuals will clearly
need to adapt to positive and negative impacts of climate change.
In addition to an appreciation of the specific impacts for them,
this will require an understanding of their own capacity to adapt
and, crucially, their relationships with stakeholders. Stakeholders
will have their own vulnerabilities and capacities, so any actions
that one organisation takes will impinge on the ability of others
to respond. In many cases, these responses can be mutually beneficial;
in others, there will be potential for conflicting priorities,
which could limit our overall adaptation and increase the costs
to society as a whole.
25. The cross-cutting nature of climate
change across social, economic and environmental concerns, the
involvement of a wide range of stakeholder organisations, the
requirement for long-term planning and the need to account for
the interaction between climate change and other drivers of change
all mean that approaches to adaptation must be strategic and must
be taken in partnership. This has important implications for action
"on the ground" but also for national government. At
present, action is somewhat fragmented between departments and
there are differing levels of take up (as, for example, in transport
policy). There needs to be closer co-ordination and leadership
to ensure that all departments adopt fully adaptive planning.
Furthermore, central Government needs to make clear to all regional
and local bodies the need to account for climate change impacts
and adaptation, as well as mitigation, in their policies.
26. A strategic approach should mainly consist
of adapting existing or planned policies to take account of climate
change, rather than devising new strategies with a specific focus
on climate change—although there may be a need for such
documents in some situations. Examples of national policies that
will need to be adapted (and adaptive) to climate change include
the UK Sustainable Development Strategy and Building Regulations;
at regional level, spatial and economic strategies; and at sub-regional
level, local development frameworks and community strategies.
In reality, almost all policies and plans will need to give attention
to climate change impacts and adaptation, as well as to mitigation.
27. There is also a need to build adaptive
responses into policy at EU and international levels. The UK Government
has signalled its intention to highlight climate change during
its leadership of the G8 throughout 2005 and of the EU in the
second half of the year; it is imperative that this include a
focus on adaptation as well as mitigation, because of the global
nature of the systems on which climate change will impact and
of the agreements on how nations manage investment, trade and
security, for example. This leadership role of the EU and G8 should
also include strenuous efforts to persuade members and other nations
to recognise the threat that climate change poses, to fall in
with Kyoto or similar targets, and consider local impacts of climate
change on their communities.
28. In adapting to climate change, there
must also be constructive links to mitigation. Effective action
now to minimise global greenhouse gas emissions will help to ensure
that the worst scenarios for climate change can be avoided—including
possible irreversible and catastrophic change beyond this century—thus
making it easier for future generations to undertake further adaptation.
Conversely, adaptations that need to be planned now should be
designed in ways that help deliver future mitigation successes,
for example in the design of energy efficiency and renewables
into buildings, infrastructure, services and land use planning
more generally.
29. Our SECTORS project considered the elements
in an adaptation strategy to include: understanding current practices;
appreciating how these relate to climate; assessing potential
threats and opportunities, including uncertainties; appraising
measures to increase resilience to climate change and to maximise
opportunities; and prioritising strategies and adopting these
in forward planning. An organisation might consider an approach
based on its different functions or roles—for example, as
an employer, a property owner, a purchaser of goods and services,
an investor and also possibly as a role model, educator or influencer:
climate change impacts will have implications for each of these
activities and should be considered at all stages of planning.
30. In developing their own adaptation strategies,
organisations can benefit from tools and support, including: guidance,
case studies, training, access to expert knowledge and local services.
UKCIP continues to play an invaluable role in developing such
tools. Regional partnerships—such as SECCP—work closely
with UKCIP and with each other in providing their own programmes
and services.
31. Some support can be provided centrally
but adaptation must take place "on the ground" at local
and regional levels. There is a need for effective and flexible
support as close to these levels as possible and regional partnerships
provide an effective means to encourage self-support, facilitate
exchange between stakeholders and deliver any support that is
developed nationally. Stakeholders have already invested significant
financial and in-kind resources in such regional initiatives and
are committed to their growth and success. National support for
such approaches, alongside UK-wide initiatives, should be a means
to deliver national, regional and local policy objectives that
are in harmony with each other.
32. SECCP endorses the work of UKCIP and
wishes to see greater priority given to promoting the programme's
knowledge and tools to public, private and non-profit sector organisations.
33. We recommend that the Committee address
the need for support to UK industry, public bodies and non-profit
organisations to help them work constructively and together towards
a climate-resilient society, including adequate resources for
effective public awareness campaigns to motivate personal and
business adaptation actions. To ensure effective delivery of this
support, Government departments should be encouraged to work with
each of the regional partnerships, including appropriate financial
support for specific activities.
1 October 2004
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