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| Climate Change News 2006 |
Polluting cars face charge rise
Vehicles causing the most pollution in central London are to face huge increases in the congestion charge, mayor Ken Livingstone has announced. The daily charge for vehicles in carbon emissions band G, which includes some 4x4s, is to rise to £25 from 2009. In 2008, the charge will be removed for cars in Bands A and B (such as the hybrid cars) which produce the lowest emissions, Mr Livingstone said.
Homeowners 'in denial' over flood risks
Baroness Barbara Young, the agency's chief executive, said only 31% of homeowners living in flood risk areas had taken steps to find out if they are at risk, and just 10% had signed up for the free flood warning service on offer. The agency said 2.3m of the 25m homes in England and Wales were in flood risk areas, with property, land and assets worth £237bn in danger of ending up under water.
Of course, the agency has done little to stop the building of new homes in flood risk areas.....
Green policies will hurt economy, says BA
Despite Stern showing how badly climate change could affect our economy, it is the fear of losing economic advantage in the international community that really stops our government taking decisive action on climate change.
Protect forests to soak up emissions, says Kew director
Urgent financial incentives to stop land being cleared for farming were crucial for tackling global warming and the most cost-effective way of soaking up greenhouse gases, said Stephen Hopper, director of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, in his first interview since taking up the position last month.
Prof Hopper said the global response to the threat of climate change had focused disproportionately on technological fixes and efforts to trim emissions from industry. "We obviously have to focus on emissions and what we can do to reduce them, but a long term solution that's going to be the lowest cost surely involves caring for plant life that exists out in the big wide world at the moment and repairing and restoring forests that have been damaged in different ways," he said.
Australia suffers worst drought in 1,000 years
Australia's blistering summer has only just begun but reservoir levels are dropping fast, crop forecasts have been slashed, and great swaths of the continent are entering what scientists yesterday called a "one in a thousand years drought".
Last week new UN figures showed that Australia's emissions of greenhouse gases were the highest per capita in the west, apart from Luxembourg, and that they had grown by 1.5 tonnes a head since 1990. Australia now emits almost as much carbon and other greenhouse gases as France and Italy, which each have three times its population.
Will Australia now start to take climate change seriously?
Flood damage could hit £16bn, warns insurer
Failure to invest in flood defences on the east coast of England could result in £16bn worth of damage and put lives at risk, a report by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) warned today.
Report's stark warning on climate
The general message: A stitch in time saves 9 (or 20). Spend 1% of world GDP now on measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or spend 20% of world GDP on trying to fix the consequences of unfettered climate change later.
Listen to Sir Nicholas Stern on the Today programme
Protesters unfurl anti-M1 banners
Attempting to call an end to the government's 'predict and provide' planning which makes a nonsense of Kyoto commitments to reduce CO2 emissions.
Julie White, a spokesperson for the No Widening M1 Alliance said: "Road transport contributes 21% of UK CO2 emissions which cause global warming and rises every year as traffic increases.
Car-makers and EU head for showdown
The global car industry is heading for a showdown with the EU over commission plans to propose legislation to curb carbon dioxide emissions from new cars as part of the fight against global warming. Exasperated by the industry's failure so far to hit voluntary targets for cutting CO2 emissions to 140 grams a kilometre by 2008, Stavros Dimas, environment commissioner, will propose new laws to enforce tougher limits in the years ahead.
Climate change 'hitting Africa'
Andrew Simms, from the New Economics Foundation, said: "Global warming is set to make many of the problems which Africa already deals with, much, much worse," he said. "In the last year alone, 25 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa have faced food crisis.
"Global warming means that that many dry areas are going to get drier and wet areas are going to get wetter. They are going to be caught between the devil of drought and the deep blue seas of floods. The great tragedy was that Africa had played virtually no role in global warming, a problem he said was caused by economic activity of the rich, industrial countries."
'Gas guzzlers' face parking hike
Is this a way forward for local action? Your views
Gravity satellites see ice loss
Greenland is currently losing about 100 billion tonnes of ice a year. According to this study, Greenland is now losing 20% more mass than it receives from new snowfall each year. "This is a very large change in a very short time," said co-author Jay Zwally from NASA.
Climate water threat to millions
Climate change threatens supplies of water for millions of people in poorer countries, warns a new report from the Christian development agency Tearfund. Recent research suggests that by 2050, five times as much land is likely to be under "extreme" drought as now.
Tackling UK's gassy cows problem
"Cows don't ruminate anymore," concludes Professor David Beever, an expert on nutrition with feed producer Richard Keenan and Co. He believes that their food is not chewy enough, so they do not break it down in their mouths before it gets to their rumen. It is inefficient and produces more methane. Part of his solution is to cut their silage feed to make it longer or chewier - "it's like adjusting the carburettor".
"Instead of perhaps 35 litres of methane per litre of milk, it could be as low as 25 or 20."
Climate change threat 'daunting'
Rick Samans, head of the Davos-based World Economic Forum, said the global effort to tackle the problem was beginning 10-15 years late. He said politicians had to act fast and set targets to cut CO2 emissions.
Urgent call on carbon emissions
Greenhouse gas emissions need to be reduced far
more quickly than was previously thought, says a climate change research institute.
A report by the Tyndall Centre said a UK government target of a 60% cut in emissions
by 2050 is insufficient and needs to be 70% by 2030.
Melting ice dilutes northern seas
Freshwater pouring into northern oceans is slowly turning high-latitude waters less salty. Shrinking ice sheets and melting glaciers are partly responsible for the freshening effect, a review in the journal Science has confirmed. If salinity levels continue to drop, dramatic changes to the North Atlantic currents could occur.
Package holiday 'will be history'
Climate change may lead to the British package holiday to the Mediterranean becoming "consigned to the scrapbook of history", a report claims. Places like Majorca may be too hot by 2030, and replaced by UK holidays, and health, sport and cultural visits, the Halifax Travel Insurance study said.
Climate blamed for early springs
A Europe-wide study has provided "conclusive proof" that climate change is responsible for spring arriving earlier each year, researchers say. Scientists from 17 nations examined 125,000 studies involving 561 species. The season was beginning on average six to eight days earlier than it did 30 years ago, researchers said.
UK 'could suffer Katrina-style flooding'
Experts today accused ministers of ignoring the lessons of Hurricane Katrina, warning that the kind of deluge that overwhelmed New Orleans a year ago could not be ruled out in Britain. Although the UK was likely to be spared the effects of a category five hurricane, the experts said the possibility of flooding caused by storm surges, high tides and heavy rain was real and likely to increase due to the effects of climate change.
Invasion of the warm water aliens
Robin Turner, fish auctioneer and boat owner, has seen most things caught off Cornwall in the last 30 years, but even he was surprised at what has turned up lately. Not the catch of rare Spanish mackerel brought to Newlyn market this week, nor the shoal of even rarer giant ocean sunfish reported off Plymouth, but the 9 kilo (20lb) yellow fin tuna netted off Land's End, which was only the second recorded in British waters.
More and more warm water fish, whales, crustaceans and other marine species are heading north, following the plankton and fish on which they feed. In the last few years, trigger and puffer fish, rainbow wrasse, sardines, anchovies, barracudas and seahorses have been recorded. There is anecdotal evidence of great white sharks.
Co-op group switches to green power
The Co-operative group today declared itself to be Britain's first major retailer to switch completely to green electricity. Energy for all the company's mainland sites, from more than 3,000 retail shops to its headquarters in Manchester, is now sourced from renewable energy.
The meltdown of Greenland's ice sheet is speeding up, satellite measurements show. Data from a US space agency (Nasa) satellite show that the melting rate has accelerated since 2004. If the ice cap were to completely disappear, global sea levels would rise by 6.5m (21 feet).
Blair signs climate pact with Schwarzenegger
Tony Blair yesterday sidestepped the Bush administration's refusal to act on climate change by signing what was hailed as a ground-breaking agreement with California, the world's 12th largest carbon emitter, to fight global warming.
Climate change could bring tourists to UK - report
Climate change could "dramatically" change the face of British tourism in the next 20 years, with European tourists flocking to the UK to escape unbearably hot continental summers, experts say.
Miliband unveils carbon swipe-card plan
The environment minister, David Miliband, today
unveiled a radical plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions by charging individuals
for the amount of carbon they use.
Under the proposals, consumers would carry bank cards that record their personal
carbon usage. Those who use more energy - with big cars and foreign holidays
- would have to buy more carbon points, while those who consume less - those
without cars, or people with solar power - would be able to sell their carbon
points.
Power package to see UK through to 2050
The government yesterday unveiled an array of measures, from nuclear new-build to phasing out the standby setting on computers. It said these would take the UK closer towards meeting its target of cutting carbon emissions by 60% of 1990 levels by 2050 and helping to secure energy supplies in the long term.
Eco-friendly technology gets green light
Erecting a domestic wind turbine or installing solar panels at home should be as easy as putting up a satellite dish, the government said today as it unveiled plans to lift planning restrictions for home owners that go green.
Homes put up for sale in England and Wales will have to carry an energy rating similar to those displayed on fridges and washing machines, the government said today. The measures, which come into force next year, will make it easy for potential buyers to see how energy efficient a property is and encourage homeowners to reduce carbon emissions.
What will happen if Britain becomes 3C warmer?
Chief scientist David King says a 3C increase will mean half the world's wildlife reserves and corals will have gone, the tropical forests will dry up, and perhaps a billion people will starve. And there's more. Last year, the government said that a 3C rise could trigger the melting of the Greenland ice cap, the destabilisation of the Antarctic and "irreversible system disruptions" - basically, out-of-control change. The IPCC says that if emissions are not cut, sea leavels will rise 43cm by 2100, and go on rising after that for 200 more years. Britain, a small island, will become much smaller.
Trade winds weaken with global warming
Trade winds that sweep around half the globe are weakening as global warming disrupts normal atmospheric circulation, scientists report today. "We know this air current has an influence on weather in many regions, so we can expect there to be changes locally. Ecosystems are complex, but our concern would be that this could also affect biological productivity over a large part of the Pacific," said Dr Vecchi.
Mass extinction rate 'faster than dinosaurs'
Polar bears and hippos have joined the ranks of
threatened species, along with a third of amphibians and a quarter of mammals
and coniferous plants, according to the World Conservation Union.
The conservation group's Red List of endangered species found that 16,119 species
are at the highest levels of extinction threat, equivalent to nearly 40% of
all species in its survey.
Climate change forces plants to search for better places to live
Climate change is reshaping the landscape of Britain as rising temperatures allow orchids and ferns to flourish in the north, while other species retreat to cooler conditions on high land and mountainsides.
Volunteers working for the Botanical Society of the British Isles and the charity Plantlife recorded more than 200,000 plants in patches four kilometres square around the country and found the number and distribution of one third of all species had changed substantially since an earlier survey in 1987.
MPs criticise Brown over air passenger duty
MPs have criticised the chancellor, Gordon Brown,
for failing to include measures curbing greenhouse gas emissions from air travel
in the budget.
The cross-party Treasury Committee dismissed the government's explanation for
freezing air passenger duty (APD) for a fifth successive year as "incoherent
and unconvincing".
Death, famine, drought: cost of 3C global rise in temperature
Global temperatures will rise by an average of 3C
due to climate change and cause catastrophic damage around the world unless
governments take urgent action, according to the UK government's chief scientist.
In a stark warning issued yesterday Sir David King said that a rise of this
magnitude would cause famine and drought and threaten millions of lives.
Fragrance of pine forests helps to slow climate change
The fresh fragrance released by trees in northern pine forests is a significant component in slowing climate change, according to research.
New rise in carbon dioxide emissions
Carbon dioxide emissions in Britain have risen for the third year in a row, and are the highest ever under Labour, figures revealed yesterday.
Beckett unveils new measures to cut CO2
Unveiling the climate change programme earlier today as part of the government's much-delayed publication of the climate change review, the environment secretary, Margaret Beckett, confirmed that the government could only aspire to get close to its much publicised target of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 20% by 2010.
A raft of new measures across the personal, domestic and international sphere outlined today will reduce greenhouse gases by 15-18% below 1990 levels by 2010, Ms Beckett said.
Scientists forecast metre rise in sea levels this century
Half of Greenland and vast areas of Antarctica are destined to melt if global warming continues at the same pace until the end of the century, scientists warned yesterday. Their research shows that the loss of so much ice will trigger dramatic rises in sea levels, ultimately swamping low-lying regions of Essex, Lincolnshire and Norfolk and threatening the flood defences of cities such as London, Liverpool and Bristol. The last time so much ice was lost from the poles - in a period between ice ages 129,000 years ago - global sea levels rose by four to six metres.
The warmest Canadian winter since records began officially ends this week. By Canadian standards it was balmy, with temperatures 3.9C above normal across the country, and 8C higher than usual in parts of the north.
UN urged to save glaciers and reefs
United Nations experts will today hold an emergency meeting aimed at protecting some of the world's natural wonders from the escalating threat of climate change. Melting glaciers on Mount Everest and damage to the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia have prompted calls for the UN to officially acknowledge that global warming poses a danger to some of its world heritage sites. A move to add these and other sites to the endangered list are to be discussed at a special summit meeting in Paris.
Environment changes hit Europe's butterflies
· Largest study shows seven in 10 UK species
in decline
· Intensive farming, habitat loss and climate to blame
Sharp rise in CO2 levels recorded
US climate scientists have recorded a significant rise in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, pushing it to a new record level. The latest data shows CO2 levels now stand at 381 parts per million (ppm) - 100ppm above the pre-industrial average. The research indicates that 2005 saw one of the largest increases on record - a rise of 2.6ppm.
The UK government's chief scientific adviser, Professor Sir David King, said the new data highlighted the importance of taking urgent action to limit carbon emissions. "Today we're over 380 ppm," he said. "That's higher than we've been for over a million years, possibly 30 million years. Mankind is changing the climate."
New biofuel pump at supermarket
Britain's first filling station pump dispensing bioethanol has been unveiled at a Norwich supermarket. Also on Wednesday, Swedish car maker Saab unveiled a vehicle in Norwich that has a modified engine so that it can use the new fuel.
Construction of a new bio-ethanol plant is underway at British Sugar's factory at Whissington in West Norfolk. A spokesman for Saab said some working parts in the bioethanol fuelled car engine had been hardened and it had the benefit of producing much lower carbon dioxide emissions in exhaust gases.
Pollution soaring to crisis levels in Arctic
Researchers have uncovered compelling evidence that indicates Earth's most vulnerable regions - the North and South Poles - are poised on the brink of a climatic disaster. The scientists, at an atmospheric monitoring station in the Norwegian territory of Svalbard, have found that levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere near the North Pole are now rising at an unprecedented pace.
In 1990 this key cause of global warming was rising at a rate of 1 part per million (ppm). Recently, that rate reached 2 ppm per year. Now, scientists at the Mount Zeppelin monitoring station have discovered it is rising at between 2.5 and 3 ppm.
Scientists say British greenhouse gas emissions now higher than in 1990
Britain's emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide are now higher than they were in 1990, the benchmark year used in government targets to tackle the pollution which is driving climate change. A study by scientists at the Tyndall centre, at Manchester University, shows that soaring carbon emissions from the aviation and shipping industries have swamped attempts to reduce pollution from other UK sectors.
Don't build nuclear plants, green advisers tell Blair
Britain can meet its climate change targets and satisfy growing energy demand without building a new generation of nuclear power stations, according to a wide-ranging report from the government's green advisers, The Sustainable Development Commission (SDC).
Forecast shows Africa to face river crisis
In the first detailed assessment of climate change on the continent's waterways researchers found that watercourses on the continent are highly sensitive to shifts in rainfall patterns. Even modest decreases in rain in western Africa will see rivers lose as much as 80% of their water, triggering a surge of what the scientists call "water refugees".
The scientists found that in 75% of the countries, those that received between 400mm and 1,000mm of rain a year, shifts in rainfall caused larger than expected rises or falls in river levels. In Harare a 10% drop in rainfall is expected to lead to an 81% drop in fresh water from rivers, a situation the scientists believe will be mirrored in Madagascar, eastern Zambia and Angola.
Antarctic ice sheet decline startles scientists
The Antarctic ice sheet, which contains 90% of the world's ice, has lost significant mass in the past few years. A research team from the University of Colorado used satellite data to estimate that the ice sheet is losing up to 36 cubic miles of ice every year. By comparison, a city the size of Los Angeles uses one cubic mile of fresh water every year.
China fights to hold back sands
China declared its first victory in a centuries-old war against the desert yesterday after a campaign to plant 12bn trees in five years finally made a small green dent in an ocean of sand dunes and dustbowls.
Climate scientists issue dire warning
The Earth's temperature could rise under the impact
of global warming to levels far higher than previously predicted, according
to the United Nations' team of climate experts. A draft of the next influential
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report will tell politicians
that scientists are now unable to place a reliable upper limit on how quickly
the atmosphere will warm as carbon dioxide levels increase.
We
can't turn back tide: National Trust plans retreat in face of climate change
The National Trust is having to rethink its strategy because climate change is affecting hundreds of its properties and stretches of coastline. A stocktake on the impact of global warming and other forces of nature has concluded that "we can't always conserve things exactly as we once have. This goes for species, habitats, coasts or buildings". One of the most dire predictions suggests 169 sites along nearly 380 miles of coast will be hit by erosion.
Most Britons willing to pay green taxes to save the environment
Most British people would accept new taxes on goods and services that damage the environment, according to a Guardian/ICM poll which reveals a widespread willingness to make personal sacrifices to tackle the threat of climate change. Some 63% said they approved of a green tax to discourage behaviour that harms the environment, while 34% said they would not accept such price rises.
Airlines flying into turbulence over climate change law
Aviation accounts for 3 per cent of carbon emissions globally - but, since air travel is increasing at over 7 per cent a year, the sector is potentially among the biggest contributors to man-made global warming. If the UK were going to develop in a sustainable way to achieve the 2050 targets, then the manufacturing sector and private households would have to emit no carbons at all by then to compensate for the growth of the airline sector, according to the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research.
This year measures will be suggested to make the European aviation industry pay for the pollution it creates. The EU Commission will publish a report in April outlining plans for aviation to join the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EUTS). If these plans go ahead, airlines will have to obtain carbon allowances before they put planes in the skies.
UK's 'sobering' climate forecast
The UK could face major flooding and tropical temperatures by the year 3000 if greenhouse gas emissions are not sharply reduced, a new study says. The report, from the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, claims Britain could look radically different with sea levels rising as much as 11.4m.
Climate 'warmest for millennium'
In the late 20th Century, the northern hemisphere experienced its most widespread warmth for 1,200 years, according to the journal Science. The findings support evidence pointing to unprecedented recent warming of the climate linked to greenhouse emissions.
Drastic action to save river life as Thames flows critically low
Thousands of licences that allow water companies and farmers to take water out of rivers and streams could be reduced or revoked in an attempt to avoid Britain running dry after years of dwindling rainfall and rising temperatures.
An Environment Agency study, the first of its kind for a generation, has found that one in 10 river catchment areas could have problems from too much water being drawn out. The Thames is flowing at less than a third of its usual winter level through parts of south-west London, and across the south 2005 was the third-driest year since records began in 1897. London's long-term average rainfall is lower than that of Istanbul, Rome, Dallas, Sydney or Nairobi.
PM issues blunt warning on climate change
Climate change is "worse than previously thought". The Antartic and Greenland ice sheets will melt if temperatures rise more than 3° C and temperatures are set to rise by between 1.4 and 5.8° C his century.
Climate report: the main points
A major new report commissioned by the UK government suggests it is unlikely that "dangerous" climate change can be avoided.
Surrounded by some of the world's roughest seas, Britain could generate a fifth of its electricity by harnessing the power of tides and waves.
The report was welcomed by environmentalists: 'Solutions to climate change and the threat and expense of nuclear power exist; we just need the political will to implement them,' said a spokesman for Greenpeace.
Germany's oaks 'could die out'
Germany's once magnificent forests are feeling the effects of climate change, with one in every two oak trees officially sick, researchers said yesterday. A report says the state of the nation's forests has improved marginally since last year but that oaks are dying off at an alarming rate.
Nuclear fears as energy review is launched
The government yesterday launched a debate over energy policy which critics fear could herald the construction of a new generation of nuclear power stations.
The boiling point is coming for the fight against climate change
How will the government meet their commitments on greenhouse gas emissions : are they really bothered!
Plants revealed as methane source
Scientists in Germany have discovered that ordinary plants produce significant amounts of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas which helps trap the sun's energy in the atmosphere.
