Climate Change

A Global Challenge

Climate change due to human activities is the most serious problem facing humanity in the 21st century. There should be no doubt over the science � the continued release of greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, and industrial and agricultural processes will lead to severe and potentially catastrophic changes in the earth�s climate, some of which will be irreversible.

Without immediate action, the impacts of climate change would include a rise in sea levels, mass extinctions and migrations, and increased incidence of flooding, droughts and tropical storms. The impact on human populations, particularly those in developing countries, could be disastrous.

Developing sustainable solutions

The impacts of climate change are global. For us in the UK, the challenge of moving to a low carbon society will involve fundamental changes in the operation of government and business, and in all of our lives as citizens and consumers. The SDC believes that the only consistent, effective and equitable way to meet this challenge is through the framework of sustainable development - applying the five sustainable development principles agreed by the UK Government and the Devolved Administrations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2005:

"We want to achieve our goals of living within environmental limits and a just society, and we will do it by means of a sustainable economy, good governance, and sound science." One future - different paths - the UK's shared framework for sustainable development

Carbon dioxide is the major greenhouse gas and a more urgent international response is required than the Kyoto process is currently delivering. Reducing carbon emissions, particularly from fossil fuels, must be a top international priority. The SDC believes that international emissions trading is the best way to achieve this aim, but only if absolute cuts in carbon emissions are achieved in line with the scientific evidence. We are pushing hard for the UK to take a strong lead in this area both through the EU Emissions Trading Scheme and through an extension of carbon trading to sectors such as road transport, aviation, smaller businesses, and possibly individuals.

However, emissions trading is simply a form of �carbon pricing�, and this alone is not enough. As highlighted by the Stern Review, effective action on reducing greenhouse gas emissions must include three elements:

Carbon pricing, through some combination of taxation, trading and regulation
Technology policy, to support the development of a range of low carbon and high efficiency technologies
Removal of barriers to behavioural change, which is particularly important in ensuring take-up of opportunities for energy efficiency

Developing policies to tackle the challenge of climate change will require a concerted and sustained effort by the UK Government and the Devolved Administrations. The SDC believes that this must be done in a way that is consistent with the principles of sustainable development.

Policy advice

The SDC is the Government�s advisor and watchdog on sustainable development, and climate change is already a major element of all our work programmes, in particular our work on energy, transport, and buildings.

The SDC has been active in advising the UK Government on its Climate Change Programme, and prepared a detailed submission in 2005 during its review (see below). More recently we have provided advice on the UK and Scottish Climate Change Bills.

We have been strong advocates for further research into the area of personal carbon trading and are currently providing input into the Defra-led study on this issue.

During 2006 the SDC held a workshop on carbon neutrality and offsetting, and we have provided advice Government departments on how to approach this issue.

We are planning to publish some further work on climate change policy during 2008.

Publications

� SDC submission to the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Climate Change Bill (2007)
� Climate Change � The UK Programme 2006
SDC submission to the Environmental Audit Committee inquiry into the Climate Change Programme 2006.
� SDC submission to the review of the Climate Change Programme (2005)
� Summary response of the SDC submission to the review of the UK Climate Change Programme (2005)

� Browse all our resource documents on climate change

Further information

Government policy

� Northern Ireland Executive climate change policy
� Scottish Government climate change policy
� UK Government climate change policy - Defra
� Welsh Assembly Government climate change policy

General information

� Act on CO2 � UK Government campaign on climate change (including a personal carbon calculator)
� BBC climate change website
� Carbon Trust � advice to business on reducing carbon emissions
� Climate Challenge � UK Government programme on communicating climate change
� Environment Agency climate change information
� New Scientist guide � climate change for the perplexed
� Royal Society guide to the climate change controversies

Climate change research

� Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) � international scientific analysis and reporting on climate change
� Met Office Hadley Centre � climate change prediction and research
� Stern Review � HM Treasury review of the economics of climate change
� Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research
� United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) � international framework agreement to tackle climate change
� UK Climate Impacts Programme