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Global Warming

Answer

The Department funds much of the UK work on climate change, its impacts and appropriate adaptation measures and so we are in regular contact with leading experts in this field.The main effects on the coastline relate to sea level rise, compounded by long term land movement. For the UK, estimates were published in the 2002 UK Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP) Scenarios of Climate change. Other factors include the frequency, duration and intensity of storms which drive waves and surges.The effect of climate change on river levels depends on complex interactions between rainfall patterns (including both the frequency, intensity and duration of severe storms and longer term rainfall patterns that determine the degree of catchment wetness) and physical catchment characteristics.The Department has since 1989 issued precautionary guidance on the climate change impacts that should be taken into account when designing flood and coastal erosion risk management measures. This was last updated in 2003 to take account of the UKCIP 2002 scenarios and other specific research on river and coastal impacts. The guidance is kept under review in the light of emerging research results; for example, those presented by leading experts at DEFRA's conference on ‘Dangerous Climate Change', held in Exeter in early 2005. In developing our new Strategy for Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management—Making Space for Water-we have made a specific commitment to review our guidance in 2007. To support this review DEFRA has just commissioned a major piece of research over a 30 month period to understand, better the potential impacts on river flow of a range of future climate scenarios.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

440 c2012-3W; 37248

Session

2005-06

Subjects

Coastal areas Climate change Coastal erosion Flood control Floods Sea level

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk