Climate Change

Climate Change is happening and we all have the ability to do something about it.

What is Climate Change

Firstly, it is important to define the difference between weather and climate.

Weather is the day-to-day state of the atmosphere that produces variations in temperature and rainfall.

Climate is defined as the average weather conditions experienced over a standard period of time, typically 30 years. Climate Change represents a change in the distribution of weather over a period of time and that could range from 30 years, to millions of years.

Climate Change has come to the forefront of people’s thinking over the last 20 years, due primarily to the rapid increase in global average temperatures that has been experienced. At present, the scientific thinking is that human activity is very likely to have caused this increased in global average temperatures. Climate Change is also, more commonly referred to as ‘global warming’.

What does it mean?

Climate Change indicates that the average climatic conditions that we experience are changing. Global average temperatures have increased over the last few decades, and other changes have been apparent as well. Although the global average temperatures have increased, this does not mean that all corners of the planet will experience an increase in temperature. However, this global temperature increase, will change rainfall patterns, cause snow and ice to melt and will affect the intensity of extreme weather such as storms and heatwaves. These changes in weather patterns will have an effect on the global population in a number of different ways including food, water, health, ecosystems and the environment as a whole.

Why is it happening?

Climate Change is being caused by the greenhouse effect, which is a naturally occurring process through which the atmosphere traps heat from the Sun, warming the earth to enable it to support life.

This works in the following way:

Solar Radiation is emitted by the Sun, some of this radiation is reflected by the atmosphere and the earth’s surface, and the rest is absorbed by the earth’s surface;
The radiation that is absorbed by the land and the sea warms the earth and is converted into heat which causes the emission of infrared radiation back into the atmosphere;
The infrared radiation that is emitted then passes through the atmosphere, but during this process most is re-absorbed by and re-emitted in all directions by greenhouse gases present in the atmosphere.

Since the industrial revolution, the concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have increased significantly and have contributed to a strengthening of the greenhouse effect, and therefore an increase in global average temperatures.

Greenhouse Gases

The most common greenhouse gases are as follows;

Carbon Dioxide (CO₂)
Methane (CH₄)
Nitrous Oxide (N₂O)

The potential of a greenhouse gas to cause global warming, is measured by its ‘Global Warming Potential’ (GWP) and is compared to a baseline of carbon dioxide, which by default has a GWP of 1.

Over a time horizon of 100 years, the GWP of methane is 25 and the GWP of nitrous oxide is 298. Even though these gases are more potent in terms of there potential to cause global warming, because of the vast quantities of carbon dioxide being emitted, carbon dioxide is likely to be responsible for about 2/3rds of expected future warming.

Effects of Climate Change

The effects of climate change are being felt around the globe. Some of the main effects are summarised below;

Rising Temperatures – Over the last century the average temperature of the atmosphere near the Earth’s surface has increased by 0.74oC and 11 of the 12 of the hottest years on record occurred between 1995 and 2006.
Sea Levels and Temperature’s – Since 1990 the average sea level in the UK has risen by approximately 10cm and UK coastal waters have increased by 0.7oC in the last three decades.
Extreme Weather (Flooding) – Over the last 45 years there is evidence that there have been more cases of extreme rainfall. In 2000, UK flooding was the worst for 270 years in some areas. In 2004, flash floods in Cornwall devastated the tourist village of Boscastle. The village experienced the heaviest rains in living memory, with 185mm falling in just 5 hours. This flood was part of a bigger picture, as the summer of 2004 as a whole was the wettest in the UK since 1956. In fact, more than double the normal amount of rain fell in England and Wales in June, July and August in 2004.
Plants and animals - It is estimated that just a rise of between 1.5 and 2.5^oC globally could result in the increased risk of extinction for between 30-40% of all land living species of plants and animals.
Food and Water - Around 1.5 billion people currently live in water-stressed regions. Climate change and population growth could increase this to nearly 7 billion by the 2050s, intensifying competition for this life-giving resource. Some areas could become more fertile; others more barren. This may lead to regional food shortages (for example yields are expected to drop significantly in Africa), mass migration and poverty. Malnutrition is expected to increase in developing countries (Source: IPCC 2007).
Disease – With rising temperatures, diseases like Malaria and dengue fever will shift to different areas. It is predicted that 290 million additional people will be exposed to Malaria by the 2080s.
Rainforests - Amazonia is already damaged by deforestation through the clearing of land for agriculture. Climate change may magnify this impact by increasing the risk of fire. Further areas of the Brazilian and central African rainforest could be lost if climate change results on big reductions in rainfall to these areas. Other precious areas of high biodiversity, such as those in South Africa, may see major losses of species as habitat conditions change.

Action on Climate Change at Maidstone Borough Council

Maidstone Borough Council first acknowledged their commitment to tackling climate change when they were one of the early signatories of the Nottingham Declaration in 2001. By signing the Nottingham Declaration, the council pledged to systematically address the causes of climate change and to prepare its communities for the impacts.

In July 2005 the Council adopted its first Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (2005 – 10) which covered both adaptation to, and mitigation against climate change. During the period of this action plan, in November 2008, the Council made a commitment to reduce its carbon footprint by 3% per annum.

As we have now come to the end of this plan period, a new Climate Change Framework is being developed which will take forward this work in light of new governance structures.

In March 2010, the Council was accepted onto the Carbon Trust Local Authority Carbon Management Programme. The result of our participation on this programme was the production of a Carbon Management Plan which outlines how the Council intends to reduce their carbon footprint by 20% by 2014/15 from a 2008/09 baseline. The Carbon Management Plan outlines how this will be achieved through a number of projects and how carbon management will be embedded into everyday practise at the Council.

The Carbon Management Plan can be found below:

Carbon Management Plan

In April 2011, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has requested that local councils measure and report their greenhouse gas emissions from their own estate and operations in accordance with joint DECC and DEFRA guidance that was published in September 2009.

Attached below is the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Report for Maidstone Borough Council which provides data on the 2009/10 and 2010/11 emissions from the operations of Maidstone Borough Council.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Report July 2011