Climate Change
Climate Change
Looking at how Fylde can reduce it's impact on climate change and how we can adapt to likely changes in weather conditions as a result.
Climate Change is a Natural Process
The Earth's climate is an incredibly complex system affected by a large range of factors including the levels of activity of the sun, ocean temperatures and currents, vegetation cover of the land, levels of volcanic activity and conditions in the atmosphere among others. Changes to these factors alter the climate which in turn impacts on the weather we experience; raising and lowering temperatures, the amount of rain (precipitation) that falls and the strength and direction of the wind. All scientists agree that these processes have been occurring for millions of years and at certain times has led to periods of extreme cold (ice ages) and extreme heat (where the UK experienced tropical conditions).
By looking at various sources of evidence we can see how the climate has changed over time and how long these changes took. Evidence includes direct measurements of weather conditions (which goes back to the 17th century), looking at historical records for particular weather phenomena (which go back about 2,000 years), measuring tree ring growth (eldest living trees are 4,000 years, older dead trees go back 10,000 years), ice cores (100,000 years) sea sediments (millions of years) and rock formations (hundreds of millions of years).
Do Humans have an Effect on Climate Change?
Over the last 30 to 40 years studies of changing weather patterns has indicated that global temperatures have been increasing at a rate far higher than what would be expected at the same stage of the Earth's natural cycle. This increase can be seen to begin in the early to mid 19th century and coincides with a rapid industrialisation of the western world which involved the clearing of vast amounts of forests and the burning of fossil fuels, firstly coal and then later oil and gas, in previously unprecedented levels with associated CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions.
It was in 1859 that the British physicist John Tyndall first discovered that various gases including hydrocarbons (including CO2), ozone and water vapour block infra-red (heat) radiation and could lead to climate change. Since then studies have looked at the effect of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere in controlling the planet's temperature and how changes in the concentration of these gases change the climate system.
Most climate scientists (though not all) now agree that humans are having an influence on climate change, that our increasing demand for energy and use of fossil fuels are altering the climate in a way that would not be experienced without human activity. It is widely expected that without changing the way we generate and use energy and consume our natural resources there will be increased occurrences of extreme weather events which will impact on the whole of society.
What is Being Done?
Internationally there are agreements that climate change is occurring and that efforts need to be made to reduce the amount of greenhouse gasses that are released by human activities as well as starting to look at ways of preparing for any likely future changes. The external links to the right shows some of the agreements and studies that have been carried out to look at how climate change is likely to impact us and actions that need to be taken.
Locally, Fylde Borough Council signed the North West Climate Change Charter in 2006 and the Nottingham Declaration in 2008. Through 2007 and 2008 the Council took part in the Energy Saving Trusts (EST) One to One Support Programme to look at ways the council can reduce it's own energy use and to act as an example to the wider community. The council and Fylde Local Strategic Partnership, as part of a wider Lancashire group of authorities, has committed to reducing the overall CO2 emissions of the whole Borough by signing up to report on a national indicator (NI 186) on this issue as well as committed to assessing vulnerabilities of the Borough to severe weather events that are likely to increase as a result of a changing climate (NI 188).
What You Can Do
In the menu at the top left of this page there are two choices: Climate Change Mitigation and Climate Change Adaptation. By going to these two areas you can see what actions are being taken in this Borough and what you can do to help. Mitigation is about how we can all reduce the amount of energy we use to reduce the amount of greenhouse gasses that are released. Adaptation looks at how we may need to alter the way we live to cope with the likely future consequences of the changes that are likely to occur.
