Climate Change

What is Thanet District Council doing about climate change?

There are various international and national targets set to address the issue of Climate Change. The government's Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution has predicted that the target reduction in greenhouse gases, expressed as CO₂ equivalent emissions, should be 60% by 2050 and 80% by 2100.

If no action is taken to reduce greenhouse gases (CO₂ equivalent emissions) within the next 30 years there could be an irreversible effect on the Global Climate.

Thanet District Council has signed up to the Nottingham Declaration on Climate Change and developed its own Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan.

The Council realises that this issue cannot be ignored.

What is Climate Change?

Our earth retains its temperature thanks to a layer of "greenhouse" gases in the atmosphere, which trap energy from the sun. Without this greenhouse effect, the average global temperature would be more than 30°C colder than it is now. So a level of greenhouse gases is essential. However, as human activities involving the burning of fossil fuels increase, the concentrations of the greenhouse gases, particularly Carbon Dioxide (CO₂), build up in the atmosphere.

This causes the planet to heat up unnaturally, the weather to become more unpredictable and increases the likelihood of more frequent extreme weather events. This heating process is often referred to as 'global warming' and the overall effect of this is known as climate change.

We all contribute in some way towards increasing the layer of gases. We do this by adding to these emissions through the energy we use directly:

• to transport ourselves
• to heat or cool our homes and workplaces
• to cook food
• for any other use, such as lighting, running appliances and entertainment

and indirectly through the energy that goes into producing all the things we purchase - and the things we throw away:

• basics such as food, water, housing, clothing and healthcare
• items like DVD's, electrical appliances, cosmetics and holidays
• gases from what we throw away - such as rotting food

What are the effects?

For the South East of England it is predicted that over the next 80 years there will be an increase in average annual temperatures of between 2.0 - 2.5°C and 4.0 - 4.5°C and decreases in annual average rainfall of 0 - 10% This will result in wetter winters and drier summers with rain increasing by 20% in winter and a decrease of between 8% - 23% in summer. So we can expect a changing pattern of more extreme weather with floods, and droughts becoming "normal".

Some of these figures may not sound that significant – some may even sound quite attractive – but they represent greater change to our environment in the next 50 years than in the previous 1000 years!

Our wildlife, landscape, businesses and communities will need to adapt to significant changes in conditions.

Whilst there is still some uncertainty about the future climate, what can't be disputed is that change is happening already.

The extreme effects are currently being felt the most in the poorest and hottest countries who are least well equipped to adapt. According to a report by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) hundreds of millions of people in developing nations will face national disasters, water shortages and hunger due to the effects of Climate Change. Reduced crop yields and coastal flooding are now inevitable.

Wheat production in India is already in decline for no other reason than Climate Change.

1°C of warming is already in the climate system. If it is not kept below 2°C  – which currently seems very unlikely to be achieved  – it is predicted that up to 3.2 billion people will face water shortages and up to 600 million will face hunger.

Some examples of changes already happening in the UK are;

Temperature: The five hottest years on record for the UK as a whole have all been since 2000. The UK's highest recorded temperature of 38.5°C was recorded in the South of England in the 2003 heat wave.

Sea Levels: Between around 1915 and today the average sea level has risen by approximately 15cm at Newlyn in Cornwall and by 20cm at Sheerness in Kent.

Wave Height: The average wave height from trough to crest has increased by approximately 50cm since the 1960's. This will accelerate coastal erosion.

Coastal Water Temperature:  This has increased by 0.5°C in the last century and is increasing at a faster rate than land temperature.

Growing Season: This has lengthened by approximately 1 month since 1900. Spring flowers bloom earlier and grass grows for a greater proportion of the year.

Flooding: There has been extensive flooding in the UK over the past few years. Boscastle in 2004 and The Cotswolds in 2007 may have been extreme examples, but all the indications are that we will experience more extreme weather events and more homes will be affected.

In Thanet, Climate Change is likely to mean:

• hotter temperatures generally,
• warmer, wetter winters,
• hotter, drier summers,
• increased summer time thunder storms and intense rainfall
• the loss of some animal and plant species,
• Coastal erosion,
• More severe flooding of coastal and river areas and also flash flooding.

Climate Change

E-mail:

justine.swain@
thanet.gov.uk