date: Fri, 10 Oct 2003 12:16:50 +0100 from: "Stephanie Ferguson" subject: UKCIP news update to: "Stephanie Ferguson" Dear Colleagues 1. UKCIP risk training workshops - last chance to register! 2. UKCIP up and running with climateprediction.net 3. Paull Holme Strays Flood Defence Scheme - officially open 4. Rail Safety & Standards Board publish new report: Safety Implications of Weather, Climate and Climate Change 5. Nature's Calendar - autumn 2002 data 6. Managing Risk and Liability in a Changing Climate 7. Other conferences 8. Yorkshire and Humber Region to appoint Regional Climate Change Co-ordinator 9. CEH-Wallingford to appoint Catchment Systems Modeller (including climate change) 10. UKCIP staff changes 1. UKCIP risk training workshops - last chance to register! There are still some places left on the UKCIP risk training workshops in November and December (details below). UKCIP and the Environment Agency's Environmental Policy Risk and Forecasting team are running the free training workshops to demonstrate the application of the UKCIP risk framework (see [1]www.ukcip.org.uk/risk_uncert/risk_uncert.html) and train attendees in its use. Places are limited, so email UKCIP now to avoid disappointment! Built environment, 13 November 2003 How can a 1960s office building be modified to provide a comfortable internal environment over the next 20 years, while minimising energy use? Town and Country Planning Association, 17 Carlton House Terrace, London Water resources, 19 November 2003 How should Silver Birches plc (a tree-growing business) adjust its long-term business strategy to better manage its climate change and water supply risks over the next 20 years? Severn Trent Water, 2297 Coventry Road, Birmingham Biodiversity, 27 November 2003 How should a National Nature Reserve Management Plan be revised to take account of climate change? Scottish Executive, Victoria Quay, Edinburgh, EH6 6QQ. Local authority plans, 4 December 2003 The Local Plan for Council A is due for review and one of those responsible wants to ensure that when it's revised, it is adapted to take account of climate change impacts. How should this be done? (This workshop will make use of an existing local plan in an area that includes flood risks.) Sustainability North West, Giant's Basin, Potato Wharf, Manchester M15 4AY 2. UKCIP up and running with climateprediction.net As we reported in the last e-news, climateprediction.net was launched in September to allow a state-of-the-art climate prediction model to be run as a background process on home, school and work computers, generating the world's largest climate prediction experiment. There are currently almost 37,000 registered users (over 11,000 in the UK) and we're pleased to report that all UKCIP computers are now participating and we've registered as group. When the programme is running on your computer, you can monitor progress and there's a dinky visualisation of 'your' climate model to view. Once registered, you can also pander to your competitive instinct and view your personal and group ranking (UKCIP is 34th). 3. Paull Holme Strays Flood Defence Scheme - officially open Elliot Morley MP officially opened the Environment Agency's innovative Paull Holme Strays Flood Defence Scheme on 9 October. The project uses managed realignment to strengthen the flood protection while creating 80 hectares of new inter-tidal habitat, therefore also meeting the requirements of the European Habitats Directive. Work on the project began in September 2001 and two years later the existing defences were breached in two places to allow the sea in. Thus the process of returning the land to its original habitat (mudflat and saltmarsh) began. The intention is to allow the site to develop naturally. Visit the Environment Agency website for more information. 4. Rail Safety & Standards Board publish new report: Safety Implications of Weather, Climate and Climate Change A new report commissioned by the Rail Safety and Standards Board from AEA Technology is now available on the RSSB website. The report makes use of the UKCIP climate change scenarios, to develop risk scenarios for the railway system. It outlines the relationship between weather and railway safety, for instance, the number of signals passed at danger (SPADS) due to weather events. It also identifies future research needs and proposes adaptation actions for the industry to address climate change risks. 5. Nature's Calendar - autumn 2002 data The latest issue of Nature's Calendar News, published by the Woodland Trust, the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and the UK Phenology Network, gives an analysis of events of autumn 2002. Thousands of volunteer recorders have monitored events such as bird migrations, leaf fall and fruit ripening, and their observations show that almost all these events occurred earlier in 2002 than in 2001. This seems to fly in the face of the usual message that autumn is getting later, but the picture is complex and factors such as low rainfall in September 2002 may play a part. It will be interesting to see how the data for 2003 compares! For more information, visit the UK Phenology Network website. 6. Managing Risk and Liability in a Changing Climate Climate Change Management/Newzeye 3 December 2003, Royal Geographical Society, London, UK UKCIP Director, Chris West will be addressing this conference, along with speakers from the Carbon Trust, the Greater London Assembly and academics from the Oxford University, Middlesex University and University College London. Topics to be covered include: flood management, implications for planning and regeneration, climate change and the construction industry, climatic monitoring and prediction, climate change - obligations and liabilities and transport trends and policies. For further details visit [2]www.climatecm.com/conferences or contact Selena Hannagan, tel + 44 (0)20 8969 1008 or email [3]selenahannagan@newzeye.com. 7. Other conferences Delivering climate technology - programmes, policies and politics Royal Institute of International Affairs/Carbon Trust 4-5 November 2003, Chatham House, London, UK Sessions include: technology strategies for a carbon-constrained world, de-carbonising utilities, fossil fuel transitions, delivering climate technology - the next phase. For full details visit the conference website. Climate Change: What needs to be done in North and South? 17-20 November 2003, Wilton Park, West Sussex, UK What next for the Kyoto process? Can the US and major greenhouse gas emitters among transition and developing nations be drawn in? What role for alternative energy? How can we help entire societies soften the impacts through adaptation strategies? For more information, visit the Wilton Park website. 8. Yorkshire and Humber Region to appoint Regional Climate Change Co-ordinator The Government Office for Yorkshire and Humber region will shortly be advertising for a part-time Regional Climate Change Co-ordinator to carry forward the region's climate change agenda. The position is a two-year fixed term, part-time post (18.5 hours per week). The salary band for the position is Grade 7 (£35-£47k per annum, pro rata) and the position is based in the Government Office for Yorkshire & Humber in central Leeds. For further details on this position or to discuss the post, please contact Les Saunders - phone 0113 283 5372 or email [4]LJSAUNDERS.GOYH@go-regions.gsi.gov.uk 9. CEH-Wallingford to appoint Catchment Systems Modeller (including climate change) The Risk Analysis and Trends Section within the Hydrological Risks & Resources Division at CEH-Wallingford are looking for a Catchment Systems Modeller to undertake research covering a number of different aspects of hydrological modelling, including climate change. Applicants should have a good honours degree and a relevant post-graduate qualification or at least three years' experience in research. Further details available from the Personnel Section, CEH Wallingford, Maclean Building, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford Oxon OX10 8BB. Tel 01491 838800, email [5]wlreception@ceh.ac.uk, quoting reference 10/03. Closing date - Friday 31st October 2003. 10. UKCIP staff changes Later this month we say goodbye to Sally Jeffery, who has been UKCIP's Administrator since May 2002. Sally has been at the heart of creating the efficient structures that keep the UKCIP office running smoothly. Everyone at UKCIP would like to say a big 'thank you' for her contribution to our progress and to wish her all the best for the future. Best wishes Chris West Director, UKCIP Based at the University of Oxford and funded by DEFRA, UKCIP helps organisations assess how they will be affected by climate change, so they can prepare for its impacts. ______________________________________________________________________________________ Stephanie Ferguson Administrative Assistant UK Climate Impacts Programme Union House, 12-16 St Michael's Street, Oxford OX1 2DU Tel: 01865 431254 Fax: 01865 432077 email: [6]stephanie.ferguson@ukcip.org.uk [7]www.ukcip.org.uk