Climate Change Policy and the Evidence Base
The Climate Change Unit in DOE's Planning and Environmental Policy Group (PEPG) leads on climate change adaptation policy in Northern Ireland and feeds into UK inventories of greenhouse gases and other mitigation indicators.
PEPG Air and Environmental Quality
The evidence base
Climate refers to the average weather experienced over long time periods – the earth’s climate is not static and has changed with time in response to a variety of natural causes. One of these causes is the 'greenhouse effect' which is a natural process by which the atmosphere traps some of the sun's energy, warming the earth and enabling the planet to support life. However there is a large body of evidence that the last 100 years have seen a significant increase in the background level of carbon dioxide and other 'greenhouse gases' in the atmosphere. For further information on this subject, the UK Met Office website provides useful information on the science behind the greenhouse effect and its relationship to climate change.
At the global scale, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established in 1988 to provide objective information about climate change for policy makers and others involved in climate change work.
Locally NIEA, in common with other Agencies and public bodies, has a role to play in assessing the vulnerability of its work areas to climate change and in taking action to adapt to the environmental, economic and social impacts of climate change. Other NI Departments play significant roles – for example Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) has responsibility for the Strategic Energy Framework and the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister (OFMDFM) is responsible for the Sustainable Development Strategy which forms the policy context for the climate change activities of other Departments and Agencies, including NIEA.
