The UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) will be contributing its expertise to a major new Government-funded research programme that will prepare the country for the impacts of climate change.
A consortium of leading research institutes will provide climate data, analysis and online tools to inform the UK’s strategy to mitigate the effects of global warming.
The high-quality scientific evidence will help shape policies on improving the resilience of infrastructure to extreme weather damage and preventing homes overheating. It will also enable the Government to engage with local authorities on their regional climate action plans, as well as to develop international climate strategies for global decarbonisation.
The new four-year programme, Climate Services for a Net Zero Resilient World (CS-N0W), will be led by Ricardo, a global environmental consultancy, and includes UKCEH as well as other institutes affiliated to the Natural Environment Research Council.
Dr Gwyn Rees of UKCEH, one of the programme’s four research directors, says: “This is an exciting and vitally important initiative that will help the UK achieve its net zero ambitions.
"UKCEH will be playing a prominent role in the programme, including assessing whether future water supplies will support the implementation of clean energy technologies.”
Gill Wilkins of Ricardo, the CS-N0W Programme Director, adds: “With our consortium partners, we will carry out research and analysis to better understand the impacts of climate change and how to maximise efforts to respond to the challenges faced. We will be visualising data to make it more accessible, transparent and user friendly to help regional and national authorities understand and respond to impacts.”
The Government is committed to a target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 as part of international efforts to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial times.
“Climate change poses a threat to both our way of life and the safety of our nation,” says UK Climate and Energy Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan.
“This new programme brings together the brightest and best climate scientists, universities and research institutions from across the country to provide us with the latest tools, advice, and research to inform future climate policies at a national and local level."
The CS-N0W consortium comprises Ricardo, University College London, Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, the British Antarctic Survey, the British Geological Survey, the National Centre for Atmospheric Science, the National Centre for Earth Observation, the National Oceanography Centre, Plymouth Marine Laboratory and UKCEH.