Research identifies UK issues with climate change abroad

Recent research carried out by PriceWaterhouseCoopers – as part of the government’s National Adaptation Programme – looked at the possible impact of climate change overseas on UK trade and investment, food, health and well-being, energy, and foreign policy. The report found that climate change overseas could have greater impact on the UK climate change at home. The findings are based on a “medium emissions scenario consistent with 2°C warming”.

The main threats identified were:

• Damage to physical and financial assets from extreme weather

• Increased frequency and urgency of humanitarian assistance

• Increased volatility in food prices; political or policy reactions affecting availability of food supplies

• Increased demand for UK Government services by overseas territories and citizens abroad

The experts at the firm also found potential opportunities, such as increased potential to export UK adaptation goods and services, reduced shipping costs from Arctic opening and greater international diplomatic cooperation.

A statement issued by PWC said: “We derived our findings by looking at the coincidence of UK interests, projected climate impacts and resilience to climate change in order to map potential ‘hot spots’ and identify priority countries. And we developed a series of indicators to assess a range of interests, using the criteria from the UK’s national Climate Change Risk Assessment in order to quantify potential threats and opportunities.

“Whilst progress has been made in many countries, including the UK, to understand the impact of climate change within national borders, little progress has been made to understand the international dimensions. And yet, in an increasingly interconnected world, it is more important than ever that governments, businesses and other organisations understand and are able to adapt to changes in other countries. Our study is a high-level assessment but nonetheless provides a framework for analysis that businesses, governments and other organisations can use to assess their own threats and opportunities.”

• Photo courtesy of US National Weather Service