Tel: 03450 450 500
Email: sustainability@scambs.gov.uk (This link will open in a new window)
About these pages
- The Low-Carbon Living pages have just been launched and are currently under review. You are welcome to send your comments to sustainability@scambs.gov.uk (This link will open in a new window)
Our Partners
- South Cambridgeshire's Environment Group
Help address the issues and monitor the progress of the Community Strategy, which contains a series of actions to help improve the quality of life across the district and that tackle climate change.
- Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Climate Change Network
A cross-sectoral partnership providing support to public and private sector organisations as well as local communities seeking to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
- South Cambridgeshire Strategic Partnership
The South Cambridgeshire Strategic Partnership (or LSP: Local Strategic Partnership) is a partnership between the council and various partners to work together towards achieving economic, environmental and social standards for the district.
1.2 HOW IS IT AFFECTING US?
The effect of the increased concentration of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere will take several decades before the full impact upon the climate is realised.
Over the next 20 years, a rise of about 0.4 deg.C can be expected. This increase in temperature will potentially have global climate impacts similar to those observed to date but it is envisaged that they will be more extensive and of greater intensity. These will probably include:
- Warming, especially over land and in Northern latitudes
- A decrease in snow cover and the ice sheet over both the Arctic and Antarctic will contract considerably
- Rise in sea level
- Heat waves and heavy precipitation will become more frequent
- Tropical cyclone intensity will increase; coupled with higher wind speeds
- Increase of precipitation in high latitudes with decrease of precipitation over subtropical regions
Such changes would in turn quite likely have the following effects:
- Risk of extinction of about 20% to 30% of plant and animal species
- Significant changes in ecosystem structure and function
- Decrease of crop productivity in some areas with changes of crop variety in others
- Erosion of the coastal region and increase of flooding
- Industries close to the coast and flood plains would become at risk
- Poor communities would also become more vulnerable
- Millions of people could be affected by malnutrition, disease, and injury, even death, due to the extreme weather
- Major stress on water resources as the physical, chemical and biological properties of the freshwater in lakes and rivers changes
