Climate Change and the Parks
The world's climate is changing. Increasing temperatures and rising sea levels will have a significant impact on our National Parks and their inhabitants. It is important that we act now to mitigate the effects of climate change as well as respond to the consequences.
Human activity is contributing to climate change, for example through our production of carbon emissions, and we all have a responsibility to minimise this contribution. This can be done in a number of ways such as using energy more efficiently and burning less fossil fuels.
National Parks will play an important role in combating climate change. One example is peatlands within National Parks act as carbon sinks and need to be managed correctly and woodlands can alleviate flooding. For example the Moors for the Future partnership aims to conserve moorland in the Peak District National Park. The National Trust has also called on the government to make the conservation of peat moorlands a climate change priority.
Click here for some more case studies taken from our magazine Viewpoint which was themed on climate change. This edition also included an interview with the North York Moors Authority Chief Executive.
CNP held a parliamentary reception which was themed on climate change. See here for more details
National Park Authorities are all committed to becoming carbon neutral and can help raise awareness of visitors and residents about climate change and what action can be taken. The English Park Authorities have produced a joint position statement on climate change.
The Climate Change Bill is currently going through parliament. It shows that the Govenment is committed to a 60% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2050. A recent EU agreement sets a 20% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2020 for member states.
Tomorrow's England is a new project funded by Defra's Climate Challenge Fund to communicate the impacts of climate change on the regions of the UK.
The following links take you directly to each National Park Authority’s climate change pages
| Brecon Beacons | Northumberland |
| The Broads | North York Moors |
| Dartmoor | Peak District |
| Exmoor | Pembrokeshire Coast |
| Lake District | Snowdonia |
| New Forest | Yorkshire Dales |