Climate change
What exactly is Climate Change?
Climate change is one of the most serious threats globally. In
Scotland, we are already feeling the effects with rising
temperatures and more frequent winter storms impacting on our
lives, our environment and the economy. Much of the change in
climate over the next 30 - 40 years is already determined by our
past and present emissions. Scotland will be increasingly affected
by climate change in the future and it is essential that we act now
to adapt sustainably and reduce our emissions.
Predicted changes in climate will increasingly affect Perth
& Kinross both directly as our own weather patterns
change and indirectly due to impacts in all other parts of the
world.
The scientific evidence is growing that man-made greenhouse gas
emissions are having a noticeable effect on the earth's
climate. Globally, the 10 hottest years on record have all
occurred since the beginning of the 1990s. The
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) now says
that temperatures are likely to rise between 1.1 and 6.4
Celsius (2.0 and 11.5 Fahrenheit) this century, depending on the
amount of greenhouse gases emitted and the sensitivity of the
climate system. It also suggests that sea levels are likely to rise
by between 18 cms and 59 cms (seven and 23 inches), and that
global warming is likely to influence the intensity of tropical
storms. The social, environmental and economic costs associated
with these changes could be huge.
For a comprehensive explanation of what Climate Change is and
what it may mean for Scotland, you should visit the Scottish Government's Climate Change web
pages.
On a global scale the Met Office's Hadley Centre has produced a
map outlining some of the impacts that may occur if the global
average temperature rises by 4 °C (7 °F) above the
pre-industrial climate average. The map represents the latest
peer-reviewed science on the impacts. The 4 degree map
allows you to select which impacts you want to see, zoom on
specific geographies and access more information about the science
behind the map.
Launch the interactive full screen map
How are you tackling Climate Change?
We have signed Scotland's Climate Change Declaration. The
Declaration includes commitments both to mitigate our impact on
climate change through reducing greenhouse gas emissions and to
adapt to predicted climate change impacts. Carbon Management
Programme
We are also participating in a Carbon Management Programme.
Run by the Carbon Trust this programme aims to provide guidance and
technical support to help local authorities gain carbon emissions
savings. Our Carbon Managment Plan can be downloaded by
using the link on the left of the page.
We also participated in the pilot project to develop a
Local Climate Impacts Profile for the area and the results of that
can be seen by using the links on this page.
