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Champagne and Storms Await U.K. in Warmer Future, Panel Says
2010-09-15 23:01:00.9 GMT
By Alex Morales
Sept. 16 (Bloomberg) -- The U.K. must adapt to warmer
temperatures and more frequent storms that will damage roads
and power plants while making champagne-style wines and apricots
more viable, the government's climate change adviser said.
Britain must prepare five key areas to ensure it's ready
for the more intense storms and increased flooding that global
warming is projected to bring later this century, the Committee
on Climate Change's adaptation panel said today. They are: land
use planning, infrastructure, buildings, natural resources and
emergency preparation, the group said.
"If we wait, it's going to be too late," John Krebs, the
member of the U.K. upper chamber, the House of Lords, who chairs
the panel, said in an interview. "Builders of homes and of
national infrastructure such as roads, rail, telecoms,
broadcasting and power" will all have to adapt, he said.
Temperatures in the U.K. have already risen by 1 degree
Celsius (1.8 Fahrenheit) since the 1970s, and spring arrives on
average 11 days earlier. That's shifted growing seasons for
crops and raised sea-levels, according to the panel. Energy
developers must be aware of possible impacts, Krebs said.
"Nuclear power stations are situated around the coast in
the U.K.," Krebs said. "We need to be absolutely sure that in
terms of possible sea level rise they're not going to be at risk
in their lifespan, presumably 50 years apiece."
Krebs said his panel had mainly spoken with government
departments and regulators to prepare the report. Consultations
with private companies may come in the future. He said he hadn't
spoken with Electricite de France SA, which along with Centrica
Plc plans to invest 20 billion pounds in building four new
reactors in Britain.
Champagne and Apricots
The U.K. could also tap into potential benefits of warmer
temperatures, according to the committee.
"Lengthened growing seasons will make growing exotic crops
like apricots, walnuts, champagne and wine more viable," the
committee said. "U.K. businesses could benefit by developing
products and services that will be required in the retrofit of
old buildings and to improve the resilience of supply chains."
Buildings need to be adapted to be better suited to warmer
temperatures, cities must be designed with more green spaces to
allow rainwater to drain, and water will need to be used more
efficiently, the committee said. Energy companies will need to
adapt to different patterns of consumer demand, and roads and
railways will have to cope with warmer temperatures, it said.
The U.K. needs to avoid the "typical British disease,"
Krebs said. "We're good at talking and planning, but we're less
good at acting."
For Related News and Information:
Climate-change news: NI CLIMATE <GO>
Top environment stories: GREEN <GO>
Most-read environmental news: MNI ENV <GO>
Renewable Energy Stories: NI ALTNRG <GO>
--Editors: Reed Landberg, Todd White
To contact the reporter on this story:
Alex Morales in London at +44-20-7330-7718 or
amorales2@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Reed Landberg at +44-20-7330-7862 or
landberg@bloomberg.net.
