Climate Change

Climate change, caused by increasing levels of certain gasses in the atmosphere, is now widely acknowledged as the greatest environmental threat facing the world today.

The 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's assessment report has concluded, beyond any reasonable doubt, that Earth is nearing the stage when carbon dioxide rises will bring irreversible change to the planet.

• Glaciers, snow cover and permafrost have decreased in both hemispheres.
• 12 of the past 13 years were the warmest since records begun.
• Sea levels are rising at the rate of almost 2mm a year.
• Cold days, nights and frosts have become rarer while hot days, hot nights and heatwaves have become more frequent.

Source draft copy of the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Jan 2007)

Experience in the UK reflects what is happening globally. The Met Office has recently confirmed that the UK experienced the warmest year on record in 2006, with an average temperature of 9.7°C - 1.1 degrees Celsius above average.

In order to prevent the most severe effects of climate change we need to curb emissions of CO2 and other harmful gasses to levels well below that of today. Electricity generation from conventional sources is responsible for 30% of the UK's carbon emissions making it the single largest contributor.

"I'm optimistic - having done this [Stern Report] review that we have the time and knowledge to act. But only if we act internationally, strongly and urgently" Sir Nicholas Stern

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