This House of Lords Library Briefing has been prepared in advance of the debate due to take place on 24 January 2019 in the House of Lords on the motion moved by Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat), “that this House takes note of the threats presented by climate change”.
Threats Presented by Climate Change (355 KB , PDF)
This briefing considers risks arising from climate change—identified as increasing at both global and national level—and summarises recent coordination efforts and programmes intended to mitigate them. International bodies charged with examining the scientific evidence have identified risks associated with:
• changing weather;
• rising sea levels;
• land and marine-based biodiversity and ecosystems; and
• human systems such as health, security and the economy.
Negotiations on how to meet these challenges have continued, most recently at a United Nations summit in Katowice, Poland, held in December 2018.
The UK has identified several priority climate risk areas including:
• flooding and coastal change;
• health, wellbeing and productivity;
• water supply shortages;
• natural ecosystems, soils and biodiversity;
• food production and trade; and
• new and emerging pests and diseases.
A selection of recommended reading, including detailed evidence reports, is identified at the end of the briefing for further information on this broad and evolving subject.
Threats Presented by Climate Change (355 KB , PDF)
COP26 is an international climate change conference held under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It stands for ‘conference of the parties’ and is the 26th meeting of the parties to the UNFCCC. It is being held between 31 October and 12 November 2021. On 18 November 2021, the House of Lords is due to debate the outcomes of the conference.
What impact will the UK’s new relationship with the EU have on food, the environment, energy and health? This article examines key findings of a House of Lords committee that looked at this topic earlier this year, as well as the Government’s response, ahead of a debate on 15 November 2021.
The Onshore Wind Bill is a private member’s bill sponsored by Baroness Hayman. It would require the Government to amend planning guidance to enable local planning authorities to grant more onshore wind applications for the purpose of meeting the UK’s carbon targets.
![Onshore Wind Bill [HL]](https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/content/uploads/sites/2/2021/11/thomas-reaubourg-onshore-wind-image-unsplash-1232x924.jpg)
