Public committee asks for published evidence on the impact of climate change on the UK

The Committee on Climate Change (CCC), an independent public body tasked with advising the UK government on climate change preparation, has launched a call for evidence to identify relevant published information about the risks and opportunities the country faces because of climate change. The evidence will help to inform the government’s third UK Climate Change Risk Assessment, due to be published in 2022. Every five years, the UK government must carry out an assessment of current and future risks to the country from climate change. To inform the 2022 risk assessment, the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has asked the CCC to prepare an independent evidence report by 2021. The committee published a similar evidence report in 2016, which went on to inform the government’s second Climate Change Risk Assessment in 2017. A consortium led by the University of Exeter, in partnership with the Met Office, has been contracted by the CCC to prepare the analysis and draft the technical chapters for the evidence report. “Climate change is already happening, and with global CO2 emissions still rising, further and larger changes are getting locked in to the climate system,” said Professor Richard Betts, of the University of Exeter and Met Office Hadley Centre. “It’s crucial that we start to adapt to the changes that can no longer be avoided, while also working to avoid the worst impacts. “The UK’s 3rd Climate Change Risk Assessment will provide crucial information to support this, and we are pleased to be at the heart of the process.” The call for evidence is available on the University of Exeter’s website. The closing date for submissions is May 10, 2019.