Taking action
The task of combating climate change involves us all
As well as taking actions to limit the emissions of greenhouse gases (mitigation), we also need to adapt our behaviour to respond to the challenges of climate change. This is particularly important when you consider that even if we stabilise our greenhouse gas emissions at current levels there is a 75% chance temperature will rise by 2 °C above present-day levels, and a 20% chance they will rise by 3 °C. These changes would mean a change in our climate that would affect us all.
People have always adapted to variations in their climate, by using past knowledge and making preparations based on resources. Under climate change, relying on our experience of the past is no longer sufficient, and plans need to be made to mitigate and adapt for future changes, especially in the occurrence of extremes such as floods, droughts and windstorms.
How can communities adapt to climate change?
We need to build climate change adaptation strategies into planning and risk management to ensure the continued and improved success of businesses, government policies and social operations. Those most likely to be severely affected by climate change are the poorer, often rapidly expanding communities, near rivers and coasts, which use climate-sensitive resources. Also at risk are communities in areas prone to extreme weather.
In fact a good starting point for adaptation is to consider how sensitive our communities already are to current weather and extremes. Once we know the extent of our current vulnerability we can consider how these events may change in the future, and what our future vulnerability might be. Based on an understanding of this we can then devise risk management plans for dealing with this vulnerability.
The Met Office can guide UK business and government organisations through the development of climate change adaptation strategies using its knowledge of current weather and future climate to identify risks today, tomorrow and in the century to come.
We are improving the predictions of climate impacts by:
- Ensuring our climate model data can be used by impacts models
- Developing a framework for the interaction between impacts models as they evaluate climate-change impacts
- Where appropriate, incorporating the impacts and their feedbacks on the climate system, e.g. through deforestation, into our models.
Capacity building and climate modelling in Bangladesh — a case study
We work closely with environmental agencies; emergency planners; crisis response experts and aid agencies, such as DECC, Defra and DFID, to:
- Develop capacity in developing countries — sustainable observations and applications
- Identify key researchable issues for climate change
- Develop climate risk management strategies
