Red alert as climate change takes its toll on Scotland

Story in full

SCOTLAND was put on red alert over climate change yesterday, with experts saying it was already responsible for placing endangered species at greater risk, for rising sea levels, major floods and landslides.

And environmental watchdog the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency warned the situation was likely to worsen.

Producing the first ecological audit of the whole country for ten years, SEPA said Scotland would continue to become warmer and wetter and that attempts to stop the decline of endangered species by 2010 would prove "challenging".

The State of Scotland's Environment 2006 report catalogued a series of threats to Scotland from global warming:

• Rising levels of winter rain, up by 60 per cent in the north and west of the country since 1961.

• A long-term rise in sea levels. Since 1862, the sea off Aberdeen has risen by an average of 0.66mm a year.

• A rise in temperatures in Scotland for every season except autumn of one degree Celsius in the past 40 years and a similar rise in sea temperatures in just 20 years

The report said: "Climate change is leading to changes in temperature, rainfall patterns, snow cover, wind and storm events, flooding and coastal erosion. All of these could have significant impact on Scotland's environment, economy and people."

It added: "Scotland's biodiversity is under increasing threat from habitat loss, land-use changes, urbanisation and the spread of non-native species, as well as climate change.

"The impact of climate change is already in evidence, with some species' ranges being reduced, others extended and food chains being disrupted.

"This makes the attainment of the European Union target to halt the loss of biodiversity by 2010 challenging."

Research shows much is already under threat:

• The country faced the potentially "catastrophic loss" of its island nesting seabird populations.

• The hooded crow and meadow pipit have declined dramatically and some experts believe climate change is part of the reason. The Breeding Birds Survey found the number of hooded crows had fallen by 37 per cent over the past few years.

• Other birds under threat include the kestrel, lapwing and curlew, which saw populations drop by between 25 and 50 per cent between 1994 and 2005.

• Flowers such as snowdrops and wild daffodils flowered three weeks earlier in 2001 than they did in 1978.

• Important habitats such as bogs and dwarf shrub heath have decreased: about 32 per cent of important habitats are declining. A survey of plants found 27 per cent of species had decreased.

• Heavier rainfall will lead to more frequent and severe river flooding, potentially affecting 77,000 homes and buildings.

• Storms and drier soils can be expected to increase landslides.

The report used a colour code to indicate the situation in a range of areas, and climate change was considered at "full-blown red" alert, with biodiversity also under serious threat, on the edge of amber and red.

Dr Campbell Gemmell, chief executive of SEPA, said more research was needed to understand the full complexity of life in Scotland's ecosystem and the effects of global warming.

"Climate change is real and it's happening in Scotland now," he said. "There are 90,000 species of plants, animals and microbes in Scotland, but we understand about two per cent of them."

Professor Colin Galbraith, director of scientific and advisory services at Scottish Natural Heritage, said ways would have to be developed to deal with the effects of climate change - as well as efforts to prevent it - because some changes were already happening and more were in the pipeline.

He said: "Climate change: we cannot avoid it, it's a huge issue globally and a huge issue locally. I think the debate will focus much more on adaptation, particularly in the western world."

Prof Galbraith said

a warmer, wetter Scotland could potentially attract new plants and animals, which would not be controlled by the natural operation of the ecosystem.

The report assessed the state of the three main parts of the environment: land, water and air.

Air quality was in the worst state - it was given an amber alert - with urban smog a particular problem in the summer.

The stratospheric ozone layer, which protects life from the sun's radiation, has also been falling, while ozone at ground level, where it is a pollutant, has been increasing.

Ground-level pollution has been linked to respiratory diseases and heart conditions and is believed to increase the risk of death among the elderly and other vulnerable groups.

The weather is expected to become more erratic, with increasing numbers of "extreme event" storms.

On the positive side, SEPA pointed to the cleaning up of polluted land. It is now focusing on dealing with "diffuse" pollution - such as slurry from farm fields and oil leaks from vehicles, which can leach into the water systems - rather than major incidents.

Dr Gemmell, who gave SEPA's performance in the decade since it was set up a mark of seven out of ten, said the cleaning of rivers had been one of the major achievements.

He said about 1,400km of Scotland's rivers were "seriously polluted" in 1996, but this had been reduced to 800km by 2005.

The environment minister, Ross Finnie, said climate change was a "major threat" to which the Executive was responding in a serious way.

"If progress over the past ten years is to be maintained, government, business and consumers must decide what environmental legacy we wish to leave our children and act now to protect their future," he said.

However, Green MSP Mark Ruskell said "much more serious action" needed to be taken. "The Scottish Executive is tinkering round the edges and presenting a brave face with a false set of targets that don't add up," he said.

Growing problem

SCOTLAND produces around 20 million tonnes of waste every year.

While the majority is from commerce and industry - currently at 8.9 million tonnes and 7.2 million tonnes respectively - the level of household waste is continuing to rise by up to two per cent each year.

The result is air pollution from greenhouse gases, and fouled water supplies.

SEPA says it is vital that waste is treated as a resource to be reused and recycled, and consumption of raw materials is reduced.

'Wind rush' set to end, says minister in call for shift in emphasis towards alternative types of renewable energy

SCOTLAND'S "wind rush" - the massive surge in applications to build windfarms - may be coming to an end, the environment minister signalled yesterday.

Ross Finnie, who attended the launch of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency's report, said the emphasis should now be on other forms of renewable energy such as tidal, wave and biomass.

According to a report earlier this year by environmental groups, windfarms made up nearly 90 per cent of renewable energy schemes planned or under construction. If this rate of development were to continue, nearly 600 square kilometres - an area bigger than North Lanarkshire - would be covered by windfarms in order to meet the 40 per cent renewable energy target for electricity by 2020.

However, Mr Finnie said the Executive was keen to ensure a proper mix of renewable energy sources. Currently there is only a single marine energy testing station in Orkney, with no tidal or wave schemes making energy.

He said: "There are probably enough windfarms in development and in the pipeline at the moment [to meet its desirable share of the 40 per cent target]."

Even if a number of current windfarm proposals are rejected, its target share would probably still be met, he said.

"The rush [to build windfarms] came about because of the state of the technology. It's a much more mature technology [than wave or tidal] and in relative terms the cost of wind installations has come down very dramatically indeed."

Officials stressed this did not mean that no new windfarms would be considered, particularly as the Executive plans to try to exceed the 40 per cent renewable energy target.

COMMENT

Watchdog needs to bare its teeth

SEPA was established by the Environment Act of 1995 which combined the old river purification boards and Her Majesty's Industrial Pollution Inspectorate. As well as bringing together the disciplines of these two organisations, the act also gave SEPA several important new duties and powers.

SEPA certainly had a less than smooth start to life - mainly as a result of some clashes of operating culture. Thankfully, those days are but a distant memory and there is little doubt in my mind that the decision to create SEPA was the right one.

Having campaigned for the creation of an official environmental watchdog for Scotland, over the years, Friends of the Earth has actively engaged with SEPA. This interaction has mainly been positive, but on some occasions a little less amicable.

In the beginning we were continually needing to prod and remind SEPA of its powers and responsibilities - and the need to use them. At the time this was a little frustrating as we'd much rather have been focusing all our attention on the polluter and not on those who were supposed to be regulating the polluters.

On the odd occasion, a protest with banner, placards and media in tow outside a SEPA office was what was required to encourage it to do the right thing.

However, things do change, and in recent times SEPA has started to flex its regulatory muscles more often and act in the way a real environmental watchdog should do.

As in life, environmental problems are not just confined to flowers, trees and animals with feathers or fur. More often than not, environmental problems are felt first by people and the communities in which they live. This is an area where SEPA has experienced many difficulties over the years.

Often, in the eyes of communities suffering environmental injustices, SEPA appears to take the side of the polluter or big business. We know SEPA is aware of this and, with our encouragement, is actively trying to address this perception.

There will always be more that can be done to help tackle environmental injustice, whether it is better access to pollution information, improved awareness of the needs of communities or SEPA just remembering to use the powers it has.

However, despite our differences over the years, we are encouraged by many of the changes we have seen in SEPA. With the publication of its latest assessment of Scotland's environment, it is clear that this country still needs an environmental watchdog.

If we are to tackle the global problems like climate change or local environmental injustices, then the watchdog needs to remember to bare its teeth a little more often.

DUNCAN MCLAREN

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF FRIENDS OF THE EARTH SCOTLAND