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Reactions were sent out by the SMC to the publication of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s most recent report, ‘Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation’.
Robin Stott, co-chair of the Climate and Health Council, said:
“We welcome this report which considers the likely adverse health consequences of extreme weather events provoked by climate change. This additional information emphasises the need for an immediate and effective response to human induced climate change, a response which combines carbon emissions reduction with a transfer of resource to those who have least responsibility for carbon emissions and yet have the greatest vulnerability to the extreme weather events.
“Given that the necessary actions have major health benefits, and that what’s good for the climate is good for health, we will continue to encourage all health professionals to become actively involved in actions to tackle climate change.”
Bob Ward, policy and communications director at Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at London School of Economics and Political Science, said:
“This report highlights how increasingly exposed both rich and poor countries are becoming to the impacts of climate change through extreme weather events. In the UK, the evidence of climate change is already obvious, with seven of the 10 warmest years on record all occurring since 2002, and last year being the second warmest since records began in 1910. But it is more difficult for us to detect how the UK’s extreme weather is changing in response, mainly because such events are, by definition, relatively rare, making it difficult to measure trends. Global warming also means the UK should experience more heatwaves and fewer extreme cold weather events. A warmer atmosphere holds more water meaning the UK also faces growing risks of both downpours and droughts, and rising sea levels will increase the threat of coastal floods.
“The costs of adapting to these changes in extreme weather will be very substantial. The Government will need to spend money on building bigger and stronger coastal and river flood defences over the next few decades, and will need to give the go-ahead very shortly for the construction of a new flood barrier across the Thames to protect London. The cost of flood insurance is also likely to increase, and many homeowners and businesses will find it increasingly difficult to obtain affordable cover. Water companies will need to spend more on reservoirs and other storage facilities to deal with droughts, and local councils will need to spend more on upgrading drainage systems to stop flash flooding from heavier rainfall. Homes and offices will need to be adapted to deal with extremely hot summer days, particularly in cities. All this expenditure will be needed over the next few decades to deal with changes in extreme weather that are now unavoidable. Beyond that we have a choice of either investing in ways of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, such as renewable energy, and so avoid the worst potential impacts of climate change, or instead spend ever increasing amounts on dealing with the consequences of inaction in the form of more severe and frequent extreme weather events.”
Dr Simon Brown, Climate Extremes Research Manager at the Met Office Hadley Centre, said:
“This focus of the IPCC on extremes is very welcome as less emphasis has traditionally been given to these phenomena which are very likely to be the means by which ordinary people first experience climate change. Human susceptibility to weather mainly arises through extreme weather events so it is appropriate that we focus on these which, should they change for the worse, would have wide ranging and significant consequences. This review will be very helpful in progressing the science by bringing together a wide range of studies – not just on the physical weather aspects of climate extremes but also on how we might adapt and respond to their changes in the future.”
Prof Bill McGuire, Professor of Geophysical Climate Hazards at University College London, said:
“One of the key ways in which anthropogenic climate change will affect human society is through the increasing impact of extreme events such as floods and droughts. This landmark report uses the latest observations and models to forecast what we will be up against in the decades to come. It also highlights the complex and sometimes unexpected ways in which climate change may drive dangerous extreme events, including a response from the solid Earth in the form of increased landslide activity and perhaps other geological hazards such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.”