Background
What is climate change?
Climate change is the long-term shift in average weather patterns across the world. Since the mid-1800s, humans have contributed to the release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the air. This causes global temperatures to rise, resulting in long- term changes to the climate. (1)
Further information on historic national and international climate change actions can been viewed within the councils Climate Emergency Strategy, and includes:
In 2018 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published a report which advised that global warming must be limited to 1.5°C, as opposed to the previous target of 2°C. The IPCC’s review of over 6,000 sources of evidence found that, with a rise of 1.5°C, there would be risks to health, livelihoods, food security, water supply, human security and economic growth. A rise to 2°C would be even more catastrophic. It warned that there are 12 years within which to take the serious action required to avert this crisis and avoid the worst impacts.
The Climate Change Act 2008 introduced a legally binding target for the UK to reduce greenhouse gases by 80% by 2050 against a 1990 baseline. However, in June 2019 the Government announced a revised target – that the UK will cut emissions to net zero by 2050 (relative to the 1990 baseline).
What is a climate emergency?
There is no single definition of what we mean by a climate emergency but generally it reflects the urgent need to drastically cut emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) to be able to hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.