>>Click here
for the link to DEFRA website on Climate Change<<
The predicted effects of climate change and sea level rise
present a significant challenge for future coastal
management. It is anticipated that there will be increased
risk to many coastal assets. Key pressures are identified as
follows:
- Increased problems of overtopping of existing defence
structures due to sea level rise.
- Increased beach volatility and increasing sea levels will mean
beach recharge schemes may require increased material volumes.
- Diminishing beaches and marshes in front of defences reducing
both support and protection of structures.
- Higher sea levels will result in greater wave heights at the
shoreline, resulting in increased wave forces on structures.
- Potential changes in patterns of longshore drift could result
in altered patterns of erosion and deposition.
- Increased potential for 'flash flooding' of low-lying areas by
intense rainfall events.
- Erosion and 'squeeze' of inter tidal habitats between rising
sea levels and existing or new coastal defences.
Climate Change
Scientist’s have determined that over the last century that the
temperature of central England has risen by almost
1°
C,
winters have been getting wetter and average sea levels are
rising. There are many uncertainties as to how climate change
will impact upon us but we can be certain that in some shape or
form, as a threat or
opportunity, it will affect us all.
As we are “borrowing the environment from our children’s children”
we should ensure that our actions are
sustainable.
The Council provides services that can
directly affect the local economy and the environment, it should
therefore be well situated to help society to respond to climate
change. The Council should be able to co-ordinate both
mitigation and
adaptation strategies, so that we can
attempt to slow the rate of future human-induced climate change,
whilst simultaneously adapting to current climate
change.
The following “steps” are recommended to help
the Authority to take climate change issues forward:
Ø Establish
HBC’s present commitment to Climate Change i.e. an audit of
existing services affected,
Ø Identify
whether Climate Change presents a “threat” or an “opportunity” to
the various services,
Ø Identify
whether the service can promote “mitigation” or “adaptation”,
Ø Identify
opportunities to co-ordinate actions (the new GIS may help with
this),
Ø Develop a HBC
climate change communication strategy,
Ø Develop a HBC
climate change action plan (advise the use of different epochs e.g.
0 to 20 years and 20 to 100 years to avoid initial barriers to
change),
Ø Circulate the
“Weathering the Storm” video,
Ø Formation of
Climate Change Forum, officers with/without members.
Click
here to view Havant Borough Council's Sustainability
Appraisal
>>Click
here to view Portsmouth City Council's Sustainability
Strategy (external link)
>>Click here to view Gosport Borough Council's
Sustainability Appraisal (external link)
Sea Level Rise
Click on the two links below for a definition of Sea Level Rise
in the UK.