What is climate change?

The climate has been changing since the earth was created over 4 billion years ago. Natural changes in climate take place over very slow timescales, which allow plant and animal species to adapt to them. But this rate of change is now speeding up dramatically and this is due to the increased burning of fossil fuels that we use for modern life.

What is the man-made greenhouse effect?

The so-called ‘greenhouse gases' are a range of gases that act like an insulating blanket around the earth. They help trap some of the sun's energy in the atmosphere, keeping it at a comfortable temperature. Without the natural greenhouse effect, the earth's temperature would be a freezing -18°C, instead of the comfortable 15°C that it has been for thousands of years.

But now, the levels of man-made greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide, are being increased at an unprecedented rate through the burning of fossil fuels that we use for energy. They are building up in the atmosphere, trapping more of the sun's heat and causing the temperature of the earth to rise more rapidly than it has for thousands of years. This is called global warming.

What is the effect of global warming on the UK?

Our climate is changing. We are witnessing longer heat waves and draughts, and some of the warmest years on record have occurred in the last 9 years. Flash flooding is becoming more of a threat in the UK, with a dramatic increase of occurrences. A recent example of this is the Carlisle floods of January 2005.  Severe storms and rising sea levels are eroding our coastline.  

How you can help?

Carbon dioxide is the main greenhouse gas. In the UK the energy we use in heating our homes and transport is responsible for over 50% of carbon dioxide emissions entering the atmosphere every year. You can help tackle climate change by using less energy and living a more sustainable life.

Measure your own ‘footprint'

The choices we make in our everyday lives can all influence how much energy we use. Your effect on the planet is called your ‘footprint'. You can measure your footprint with the World Wildlife Fund ‘One Planet Living' campaign. Carbon footprints: www.wwf.org.uk/oneplanet.

Food miles

It's not just transport that takes us from A to B that we need to consider, it's the transport associated with our food - some of which is flown from all over the world to reach our plates. This is called ‘food miles'. We need to try to choose food that is produced locally, and eat foods that are in season to cut down on unnecessary food miles. Visit your local farmer's market to choose local, seasonal produce. For local produce visit http://www.farmersmarkets.net/ and http://www.madeincumbria.co.uk/

What are international governments doing to tackle climate change?

The Kyoto Protocol was drawn up in 1997 and is an international treaty on climate change. It commits industrialised nations to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. It aims to get all 39 industrialised nations to sign up to it.

The G8 refers to the grouping of eight of the world's leading industrialized nations: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and Russia, as well as the European Union. The hallmark of the G-8 is an annual economic and political summit of the heads of government with international officials. The latest G8 Summit met in Germany in June 2007. One of the aims was to try to reach agreement on setting concrete targets for reduction of greenhouse gases.

This has so far failed to happen.