1 December 2010 | Luca Del Buono

 

The UK is "feeling the effects of climate change" and must adapt quickly, according to UK Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman.

In an article, attributed to Spelman in The Guardian today, she cites recent floods in Cornwall as a reminder that climate change is an important issue. "Visiting Cornwall I saw for myself the devastating damage the flooding caused to homes and businesses alike…" Spelman laments.

She admits that although it is not certain the Cornwall floods in November were caused by climate change, the latest UK climate projections indicated that left unchecked, Britain could be braced for more of the same.

Spelman also points out that "nine out of the past 10 years have now brought serious flooding to the UK…The summer floods of 2007 alone left a bill of more than £3bn of insured damage. But the impacts of climate change, of course, are not limited to flooding. The past decade has been the warmest on record, and this summer saw the National Farmers Union warn that the driest first six months in almost 70 years has hit domestic wheat production particularly badly."

With UK temperatures now on average 1C higher than 40 years ago, Spelman acknowledges rising temperatures are a risk that needs to be managed.

"Part of my job is making sure the UK adapts to these challenges and becomes more resilient to them. How radical we need to be in the longer term depends largely on how successful we are in reducing emissions and stabilising temperatures. That's why efforts such as those being made in Cancún are so important – without a global deal to halt rising temperatures the work we'll need to do will be more extreme and cost us more," writes Spelman.

Her comments come as representatives from 194 countries are meeting at the 16th Conference of Nations (COP16) in Cancun, and she says the climate summit serves to highlight the importance of climate change in the UK and abroad. "…whatever is eventually agreed, either at Cancún or subsequently, we are already feeling the effects of climate change and we must adapt to them – now and for the future."

The UK government has committed £3 billion to international climate finance over the next five years, and Spelman says without this climate change will have a greater impact on developing countries, affecting food supplies and trade networks that support the UK economy.

She carries on to say that mitigation and adaptation efforts need to be boosted and says that climate change could see roads being resurfaced to accommodate larger storm drains. "Far fetched?" Spelman writes. "Not really – the experiences of other countries show that extreme measures sometimes need to be taken if temperatures are not brought under control."

Additionally, Spelman is looking beyond Cancun when it comes to mitigate the causes of climate change. "Whatever happens at Cancun, we need to speed up the pace of adaptation at home. Mitigating the causes of climate change and adapting to its effects are now two sides of the same coin."

The UK delegation, led by Chris Huhne, Energy and Climate Change Secretary, arrives at Cancun next week, and with little in the way of a legally binding agreement on carbon emissions expected, Spelman's desire to speed up change in the UK may prove more productive.

Author: Leroy Robinson | Climate Action

Image: C_Spelman03 | Flickr

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