The Changing Climate: The Imperative for Action

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The Changing Climate The Imperative for Action

• Dave Gorman
• Head of Environmental Strategy
• Scottish Environment Protection Agency

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Asked to cover

• Some of the science, particularly Scottish
  observations
• SEPAs response to the climate change challenge
• Introduce Scotlands Principals Climate
  Commitment
• (in my role as Chair of the Advisory Board)

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Long-term CO2 record
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(No Transcript)
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IPCC 4th Assessment report
The understanding of anthropogenic warming and
cooling influences on climate has improved since
the Third Assessment Report (TAR), leading to
very high confidence that the globally averaged
net effect of human activities since 1750 has
been one of warming,
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Longterm temperature trend in Scotland
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Average Temperature
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Growing season
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Earlier Flowering
1978-2001
3 weeks early
Wild Daffodil
Winter aconite
Snowdrop
2 weeks early
Bluebell
Dog violet
Lesser celandine
1 week early
Courtesy Prof. Fred Last, Longniddry
Broom
Wild cherry
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Heating degree days
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(No Transcript)
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SEPAs Climate Change Plan

• Identifies actions that SEPA will take across
  all of its business activities and functions over
  the next 5 years in order to help Scotland
  respond to the challenges and opportunities that
  we face from climate change.

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SEPAs role

• Monitoring and Analysis
• Regulation
• Advice to Operators
• Greening SEPA
• Informing and Influencing
• Communicating Information

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Monitoring and analysis

• National Environment Monitoring Programme
• c50,000 samples, 700,000 determinands, 500
  chemicals, 2000 plants and animals.

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Regulation
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Advice to business
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Environmental footprint of SEPAs activities
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Informing and influencing
Understanding our risk - new flood maps November
2006
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Attitudes
There was a time when Glasgow looked like this
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Scotlands Principals Climate Commitment

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Whats Behind the Commitment?

• Part of the Campus Sustainability Programme
• Brought forward by SD Topic Support Network
• Output for CaSPr programme 2008-11
• Commitment reflects similar work elsewhere
• In local government Scotlands climate change
  Declaration Nottingham Declaration
• In FE/HE American College and University
  Presidents CC Commitment CC Statement of
  Action for Canada
• Proactive response to Scottish Climate Change
  Bill, other UK/EU legislation

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Towards a Climate Commitment

• Scotlands Principals Climate Commitment
• A sector response to act on climate change
• Demonstrates leadership on climate change
• Places sector at the vanguard
• Process covers both mitigation (causes) and
  adaptation (effects)
• Strategic, to direct action over the medium term
• BUT with specific undertakings to act and report
• No league tables inclusive, not just the
  greener
• Reflects work already being done through CaSPr
• carbon management, waste, recycling, energy
  saving
• Partnership with Government, others in shared
  endeavour

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Whats Happened So Far?

• EAUC secured Scottish Funding Council support for
  process
• Consultancy support to assist delivery
• Strong early collaboration to establish Advisory
  Board
• Includes FE/HE representation, Scottish
  Government, EAUC-S, Scottish Funding Council,
  Universities Scotland, SEPA add student and
  trade unions
• Representation from college and university
  principals
• Technical support from Carbon Trust, EST,
  SNIFFER
• Board purposes
• to draft/consult on/finalise/launch Commitment
• develop business plan for future support by
  end-2008
• Agreed Board remit and approach for Commitment

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What Happens Next?

• Priority - draft Commitment text for consultation
  
• Circulate to FE/HE representative bodies
• Seek Ministerial support for Commitment
• Promote signature of Commitment by institutions
• Develop a support mechanism through CaSPr
• Link to other reporting/performance frameworks
• Foster linkages, smart working and learning
• Other sectors in Scotland public, local
  government
• FE/HE activity elsewhere

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The Future

• There is nothing positive coming from behind, a
  cold wind is blowing in all our faces and this is
  how we see our immediate future
• Wolfgang Bernhard, VW
• (NOT!)

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BUT THIS

• Imagination is more important than knowledge
• A.Einstein
• Vision is the art of seeing things invisible
• J.Swift
• Eloquence is found in action
• Shakespeare, Coriolanus