The government has to act now on climate change | John Gummer

Floods and extreme weather will become more intense, so Britain needs a long-term plan. The time for buck-passing is overThe harrowing pictures of flood victims, ruined property and stranded stock have brought home the damage the forces of nature can wreak even in our gentle and temperate climate. We must expect this extreme weather to become more frequent, made worse by the warming of the atmosphere. The UK's floods, Australia's record heat, the intense cold in the US, and the unparalleled force of Asian storms remind us that the real issue is intensity. We have to prepare, not just for too much water, but too little; not just for rain but for record tides and winds. The cost of adaptation to the effects of climate change is significant and so far hardly recognised.It's all too typical of our short-term perspectives that so many have concentrated on easy answers and facile blame. We won't solve our problems by indiscriminate dredging or sacking the chairman of the Environment Agency. Nor is it a simple matter of resources. We have to have a programme of long-term adaptation that enables the UK to cope with these fundamental and irreversible changes.Of course, some of that will involve increased spending on flood prevention and coastal defence. John Krebs, who chairs the adaptation sub-committee of the climate change committee, estimates a £500m shortfall in spending over the four years to 2015, if we are to avoid flood risk increasing over time. It would be utterly unaccept...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Comment The Guardian Flooding Nicholas Stern Climate change UK news Environment Agency Comment is free Source Type: news