It's an inescapable fact: our planet is warming up. Records show that temperatures around the world have risen steadily since 1900, and this is true for the North West too.
Climate change is the biggest environmental challenge facing the world today. We know the Earth's climate does change naturally over a long timescale, but the overwhelming majority of the scientific community now accepts that human activities are causing significant, rapid changes to our climate.
Over the past century, global temperatures have risen - the 10 warmest years on record have all been since 1990. The contribution to global warming from human activity is linked to increases in the amounts of heat-trapping "greenhouse gases" in the atmosphere. As the concentrations of greenhouse gases increase, less heat can escape from the atmosphere, making the Earth warmer. The main greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide, which is released by burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas.
What can we do about climate change?
Reducing our greenhouse gas emissions is essential to limit the extent of climate change. The scientific consensus is that we should not let the average global temperature rise more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels or we risk serious climate change. To stay within this limit, global greenhouse gas emissions must fall significantly.
We need to take action now to minimise climate change. This can be done by taking simple measures to reduce our consumption of all natural resources, especially fossil fuels. We will have to become more efficient in our use of energy, and in the forms of transport that distribute goods and move people. For example, changing the way we design and build houses can make them more energy efficient.
What will happen if we do nothing?
The latest data tells us that some climate change is already inevitable, so we will need to adapt to its impacts. We must plan for more extreme weather conditions: wetter winters with an increased risk of floods, and hotter, drier summers that put pressure on water resources. The sea level will also rise, increasing the risk of flooding around our coastline. The North West will be affected by all these predicted changes.
Find out more
Find out below what our role is, how we are supporting preparations for climate change in the region, its implications, and where to get more information.
