IACCF 2008 M02
June 2008
Inter-Agency Climate Change Forum (IACCF) 7th Meeting
17th June 2008
Silvan House, 3rd Floor East, 231 Corstorphine Road, Edinburgh, EH12 7AT
MINUTES
The following attended the meeting:
John Baxter / SNH / JBMalachy Campbell / CNCC council member / MC
David Crawley / SNH board member / DC
Richard Jarvis / CCW council member / RJ
David Macdonald / NE board member / DM
Fiona Mulholland / EHS (now NIEA[1]) / FM
Deborah Procter - notes / JNCC / DAP
Michael Usher / Chair / MBU
Clive Walmsley / CCW / CW
Marcus Yeo / JNCC / MY
Apologies were received from:
Rosie Manise / NETom Tew / NE
PRESENTATIONS
Two presentations were given, both of which prompted interesting discussion. Slides from the talk will be put on to the IACCF website.
Changes to snowbed flora given by David Genney of SNH
This work is in the process of:
a) re-surveying snowbed communities at several locations in Scotland with the aim of assessing what if any changes can be seen in the composition of the snowbed flora.
b) establishing the position of survey quadrats along transects to enable repeat survey at each site.
c) analysing vegetation change relative to known changes in snow cover etc.
The results so far do not show significant community change at any of the study locations. There are some significant differences in the relative abundance of some of the classic snowbed associated species. The principle compounding factor at the moment is that locations were not re-surveyed at exactly the same sites between years: the surveyor chose sites within the core area of each location. The ‘fixed’ quadrat sites will remove this effect at the next survey.
Points raised in discussion
DM is the aim to satisfy an academic interest (very interesting and worth doing) or to answer a specific, policy driven question?
DG both – but specifically a) to look at rate of change of this internationally important habitat b) to feed into the broader European picture potentially providing an early warning of likely changes to the community.
ShoreLook – Katie Gillham, SNH
This is a new research area designed to understand the potential impacts of climate change on coastal erosion and thus defence policies. The study will look at habitats and geomorphological features. Species were considered but felt to be too difficult to include in the study relative to the questions being asked.
AGENDA ITEM 1 MINUTES and ACTIONS from last meeting
Draft minutes were approved with no amendments.
Action points from the last meeting are summarised in the minutes from that meeting and are not repeated here.
Any action points covered by the agenda were discussed under the appropriate agenda item.
Action points xxxx were noted as being complete.
AP08/1AP08/7 / DAP to re-circulate paper IACCF 2007 Mar/5 (see AP08/7). AND
All to update a previous collation of CA research: IACCF 2007 Mar5 – CA research.doc and return to DAP for compilation and circulation (see AP08/1). / Carried Forward
AP08/8 / All to send relevant papers from Forum member agencies to DAP for compilation and circulation. / Carried Forward
AP08/10 / MY will liaise with other LUPG members to pin down what the climate change position statement aims to achieve and if appropriate offer input from this forum to produce a joint product. / MY reported that this initiative is on hold; if it becomes live again he will keep the Forum informed.
AP08/11 / CCW council paper on Methane Emissions and their relevance to wetland management and restoration. SNH, NE and EHS members to discuss this paper with relevant staff in their agencies, collect appropriate information about methane emissions from their countries, and find out whether a UK overview would be useful. / Carried Forward
AP08/15 / Climate Change Bill – Scotland. JB to send the SNH response to DAP for circulation to the Forum. / Carried Forward
AP08/22 / All to provide details of involvement with MEA’s to DAP for circulation. / Carried Forward
AP08/25 / RM to provide details of NE policy papers to DAP for circulation. / Carried Forward
AP08/26 / RM to provide details of an uplands conference being held in Sept to DAP for circulation. / Carried Forward
AP08/27 / JB to provide details of SNH’s paper delivering climate change policy to DAP for circulation. / Carried Forward
AGENDA ITEM 2 “ESSENTIAL FACTS” DOCUMENT
FM & CW both found it difficult to make decisions about what constitutes an ‘essential fact’ when compiling information for the document. Both elements are problematic – why is one piece of info more ‘essential’ than another? and what is a fact? This led to a discussion about how to present probabilities and when to present facts as distinct from probabilities. MBU suggested using the language employed by IPCC i.e. 90% probability = indisputable etc.
AP08/28 DAP to source and circulate the IPCC lay terms used to convey probability.
MY stressed the need to keep the document simple and to get it produced soon i.e. not to make heavy weather of it.
DAP reviewed the document brief and sought to confirm the structure of the proposed document.
Following discussion it was agreed that the document should:
· have a UK Focus;
· touch on international issues that are directly relevant to the UK;
· include the Overseas Territories (as a separate section);
· be applicable at a local level i.e. be useful for Local Authorities;
and that the structure should:
· be based around major habitats/ecosystems;
· use the 4 headings previously identified but separate out impacts and vulnerability:
o General
o Role in the Climate System
o Impacts
o Vulnerability
o Links to Human Livelihoods;
· have ten or so key points per the 3 non general headings,
· put in sources/references and flag those of particular importance.
Four ecosystems were identified for immediate work and agency leads assigned:
Freshwater / CCWForest / EHS (now NIEA)
Marine / SNH
Upland Grassland / NE
Leads will liaise as appropriate to make use of expertise within Lead Coordination Networks and other interagency working groups e.g. soils, marine, pollution, LUPG/RAG.
AP08/29 CW, FM, JB and RM to oversee production of the ecosystem chapter assigned to their agency. The work to be completed by the 29th August.
An introductory section outlining the science and the legislative/policy framework will be needed to set the scene for the ecosystem chapters.
AP08/30 DAP to write an introductory section to the Essential Facts document to be completed by the 29th August.
Once the document is in final draft it should be taken to the Chief Scientists Group for approval. Following discussion it was also suggested that the text be taken to agency boards for information and input and that opinions are sought from Defra and the devolved administrations. The reasoning being that if this document is to be useful to a broad range of users it needs to be owned by them at an early stage.
The document may not be produced in hard copy but simply be made available as a pdf document via the web. This can be decided once the document exists in a more tangible form.
AGENDA ITEM 3 ADAPTATION PAPER
The paper as presented to the Joint Committee being held on the 19th June was discussed. MC queried the figures used in section 1.1 – since drafting there have been more recent papers by Hansen et al (NASA sponsored work) that update the figures.
AP08/31 MC to forward the relevant papers/links so that the figures given in section 1.1 of the adaptation paper can be updated. Note – this has been done.
RJ suggested:
a) section 8.2 - the final three bullets, in particular spatial planning, are particularly important;
b) section 4.3 should be re-worded to put the idea of connectivity within the context of landscape use and thus make it more obvious how this idea fits within the overall context of spatial planning.
MC queried the wording in section 4.3. As written it talks about the UK but then specifically mentions England, Scotland and Wales.
AP08/32 MY to amend the adaptation paper in line with suggestions made.
The final paper can now be considered an IACCF product for further use within the agencies.
AGENDA ITEM 4 STABILISATION WEDGES – IMPACTS OF ENERGY GENERATION
MY has discussed this work with agency staff working on energy issues. A JNCC led contract will be let to investigate the total environmental impact of various energy technologies. A workshop will be held soon to initiate the process.
AP08/33 MY will provide regular updates of the work to investigate the impacts of energy generation to this Forum.
AGENDA ITEM 5 COUNTRY AGENCY UPDATES
SNH
A climate change position statement/policy statement is in the final stages of production.
AP08/34 JB will circulate the SNH climate change statement once it is complete.
The snow-bed and Shore Look projects we saw presented earlier in the day are the two principal SNH research projects looking at climate change issues in Scotland.
A new book: Energy and Natural Heritage has just been published by SNH.
A Climate Change Action Plan is in development and should be ready by the end of June. This action plan runs parallel to those developed by SEPA and the Forestry Commission.
AP08/35 JB will circulate the SNH climate change action plan once it is complete.
SNH are preparing an adaptation strategy.
AP08/36 JB will circulate the SNH adaptation strategy once it is complete
CCW
A position paper on energy has recently been produced.
AP08/37 CW will circulate the CCW position paper on energy.
CCW provided a submission to the Sustainability Committee of the National Assembly
A joint project funded by CCW, EHS and Defra will look at how results from UKCIP 08 can feed into ... water and to deliver biodiversity action. Test runs are underway using dummy data.
Welsh Assembly Government are investigating the impact of climate change on the visitor economy.
A workshop will be held in June to look ‘beyond MONARCH’ i.e. to develop the work done under MONARCH looking at the impacts of climate change on biodiversity.
AP08/38 CW will provide further details of the June workshop ‘beyond MONARCH’
EHS
Ongoing work under SNIFFER (www.sniffer.org.uk/res_area_other_1.asp?refer=index.asp)
A study to investigate coping mechanisms employed by different socio-economic groups ....
A risk assessment of the likely impact climate change will have on designated sites .....
NE
NE will be hosting a meeting on “climate change in the uplands” on the 14th November in Leeds.
JNCC
DAP invited the Forum to look at the Defra business case documents relating to the proposed Environmental Change Biodiversity Network (previously known as the Targeted Monitoring Network). JNCC had been involved in discussions with Defra over this proposal and had asked questions about the design and implementation of the proposal i.e. to check whether the cost (in resource and in ongoing time commitment) would produce added value to existing effort (through the ECN and through surveillance schemes).
CW felt that this initiative had suffered from protracted deliberations to date and that the original idea may well not be best reflected in the business case documents now presented.
An EU project, Minimization of and Adaptation to Climate Impacts on biodiverSity (MACIS http://macis-project.net), will be reporting its findings at a meeting in Brussels on the 3rd July. DAP will attend and report back to the Forum.
AGENDA ITEM 6 UK CLIMATE CHANGE BILL
Progress of the Bill to date was summarised by DAP (see supporting papers). The Bill is currently at the Committee stage in the House of Commons: what engagement should this Forum have at this stage? CW reported that he has had discussions at CCW, but was waiting to see what this meeting decided before going further. He also reinforced the need to have further input to ensure biodiversity is sufficiently considered.
DM reported that NE have been working on the Bill in detail and highlighted a number of issues:
Part 4 of the Bill talks about the concept of ‘resilience’ NE would like to see this better defined.
Adaptation needs to be put in terms of sustainability i.e. there should be no perverse subsidies working counter to other requirements e.g. for nature conservation gain.
AGENDA ITEM 7 BBSRC CONSULTATION
Following brief discussion of the options outlined in IACCF 2008 P13, it was agreed that the Forum should contribute and that DAP would liase with Paul Rose of JNCC (who is co-ordinating responses for UK BRAG and for JNCC) to determine how to do so most effectively.
AP08/39 DAP to liaise with Paul Rose to determine how the Forum’s contribution to the consultation should proceed.
AGENDA ITEM 8 ROYAL COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION REPORT ON ADAPTATION
This paper was noted and the emphasis placed on key biodiversity issues by the Commission welcomed.
Once the questions have been made public a decision will need to be made as to whether a single IACCF response is need or whether agencies will wish to respond individually.
DM stated that an NE board member, Michael Depledge is also an RCEP member.
AGENDA ITEM 9 REPORTS OF MEETINGS, EVENTS AND CONSULTATIONS
Meeting Reports