UK Climate Change Programme 2006 - JNCC - Defra

Adaptation
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the UK Presidency of the EU, the UK Government
hosted a meeting of the European Platform for
Biodiversity Research Strategy to review the status
of knowledge on impacts of climate change and
to identify knowledge gaps which are hindering
implementation of adaptation strategies 8 .
We will publish the results of collaborative
research on the effects of climate change
on UK priority species and habitats
(MONARCH3) and on the establishment of
a long term monitoring network.
We will review the implications of climate
change for biodiversity in England and
integrate adaptation within the England
Biodiversity Strategy.
Adaptation to climate change as an impact
will be built into the development of
integrated policy for the Natural
Environment.
39. Agriculture is inherently sensitive to climate.
We have a long-standing programme of research
of some £0.3m per year on climate change on
agriculture and identifying adaptation options to
help industry and policymakers plan for the
uncertainties ahead. The programme has recently
been reviewed and we will ensure climate change
is factored into other key research on agriculture,
Foresight Project on Future Flooding
Rationale:
The Foresight Future Flooding study was commissioned by the Office of Science and Technology to provide
an independent vision of flood and coastal erosion risk management in the UK between 2030 and 2100 so
as to inform long-term policy. In undertaking the study there was a recognition that decisions taken today
will have a profound impact on the flood and coastal erosion risks which future generations will need to
manage. It was also recognised that the options available for managing risks in the long-term will be
strongly influenced by short term actions.
Approach:
The study used four Foresight socio-economic futures paired with UKCIP climate change scenarios (for
example the high-growth ‘world markets’ future was combined with high greenhouse gas emissions) to allow
responses to be tested against different outcomes. In this way it was possible to identify policies and responses
capable of coping with a range of possible futures, allowing flexible adaptation as the situation evolves.
Results:
Under the baseline assumption of current levels of expenditure and approaches to flood and coastal
management remaining unchanged, it was found that all scenarios would result in a substantial increase
in risk. The team demonstrated that an integrated approach combining a portfolio of responses would
provide significant cost savings over conventional defences and also enable a much more sustainable
approach to be realised.
Conclusions:
The Foresight Future Flooding study does not provide a definitive vision of the future or specify what our
aims should be. It does, however, give a clear indication of how we should approach the management of
flood risk and what issues are likely to be important. It has provided a vital input to the developing cross
government strategy Making Space for Water and demonstrated that reducing climate change could make
the task we face substantially easier.
Full details of the study are available from http://www.foresight.gov.uk/
7 www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-countryside/resprog/findings/climatechange-migratory/index.htm
8 The recommendations of this meeting are available from www.epbrs.org/