Climate
Climate change is a natural process but is currently taking place at an accelerated rate. There is now strong evidence that the magnitude of Northern Hemisphere warming over the 20th century is likely to have been the largest over any century in the last millennium, with 11 out of 12 years (1995-2006) being amongst the warmest ever recorded.
This is largely as a direct result of a 30% increase in atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2), the highest experienced for 30 million years, from the combustion of fossil fuels. By 2100, annual air temperature across the Globe is predicted to rise by 1.4 to 5.8 degrees celsius. This is likely to have severe implications for mankind and global biodiversity.
At a global scale climate change is likely to have unprecedented impacts on humanity – 100 of millions of people could suffer from water and food shortages and displacement from coastal flooding. The reality of living with the consequences of global climate change was brought home to us in the UK with Foresight, the Government's office of science and technology, who published a report called 'Future Flooding' in April 2004.
Compiled by 60 experts under the direction of the Government's Chief Scientist David King, the report states that risk of flooding in the United Kingdom is growing to unacceptable levels because of climate change.
Future Flooding paints the most chilling picture yet of how global climate change will affect the lives of millions of Britons during the next half century – devastating floods, with an estimated economic cost in excess of £20 billion per year, and social costs, including health problems form disruption to sewerage systems.
Meanwhile, on of the most authoritative reports yet published in Nature predicts that up to one third of species are at risk from extinction – with up to a third of terrestrial species facing extinction within the next 50 years. The same report suggests that reducing CO2 emissions now could save more than one quarter of these species.
The failure of hundreds of thousands of pairs of seabirds – such as auks, terns, gulls and skuas – in Orkney and Shetland in 2004, was cited as evidence by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and Friends of the Earth, that the impact of climate change on bird populations is already occurring. A similar failure occurred in 2005 with guillemot, puffin, kittiwake and razorbill colonies suffering badly.
Climate change is the single most important sustainable development issue facing the energy sector, but it has implications for us all.
The UK Government has taken a leading position on reduction carbon dioxide emissions by going beyond its obligations under the Kyoto Protocol in its energy White Paper – 'Meeting the Energy Challenge' published in May 2007.
The Government has adopted the Royal Commission on Environmental pollution's target to achieve a 60% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050.
A significant part of this reduction will be achieved through renewable energy. The Government has a statutory target of 10% of energy from renewable sources by 2010 and a target of 20% by 2020. In Scotland, the Scottish Executive has set an aspiration target of achieving 50% of the nation's power needs from renewable sources by 2020.
At ScottishPower Renewables we are committed to helping the Government achieve this target. Furthermore we recognise that renewable energy must be developed in a sustainable manner – so that environmental impacts, including impacts on biodiversity, are fully mitigated and enhancement delivered where possible. This commitment is illustrated by our position as leading windfarm developer in the United Kingdom and our established track record of developing and implementing innovative conservation management across many of our operational windfarm sites and investing in research into ecological impacts to improve industry best practice.