3rd Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA3) Third Call for Evidence

THE CALL IS NOW CLOSED. Thank you to everyone that submitted evidence.

Background

Under the 2008 Climate Change Act, the government is required to provide Parliament with a comprehensive assessment of the risks and opportunities that climate change poses to the UK every 5 years. The 3^rd Climate Change Risk Assessment, CCRA3, is due to be laid before Parliament by January 2022.

The technical chapters for the CCRA3 Evidence Report are being written by a team of experts commissioned by the Committee on Climate Change and led by the University of Exeter in partnership with the Met Office. The team members and their organisations are listed below.

We are seeking academic and non-academic evidence on risks and opportunities to the UK from changes in our own climate and from climate change elsewhere in the world, and on adaptation measures in place or planned.

Following the first and second calls for evidence, the CCRA authors would appreciate more information on:

How adaptation actions are already addressing climate risks or opportunities, especially in the Devolved Administrations of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales
How further adaptation actions could address climate risks or opportunities, especially in the Devolved Administrations of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales
Limits to adaptation
Implications for the UK of abrupt, non-linear or irreversible changes in the global climate system
Implications of climate change for the UK’s transition to an economy with net zero carbon emissions, eg: how climate change may affect the potential for ecosystems, infrastructure, and human behaviours to contribute to ‘net zero’.

Alongside these priority areas, we would also welcome other evidence more widely related to future trajectories of emissions and concentrations of greenhouse gases, changes in weather and climate extremes and climate change risks and opportunities for the UK for the natural environment and assets, infrastructure, health, communities and the built environment, and business and industry, along with implications for the UK of climate change elsewhere in the world.

All evidence (academic or non-academic) submitted should have undergone quality control either through:

Publication in a peer review journal for academic papers.

A demonstrable quality control process for non-academic reports from government, private sector or civil society organisations.

How to submit evidence

Please submit evidence by email to CCRA3evidence@exeter.ac.uk accompanied by the ‌CCRA3 Third Call for Evidence proforma which is designed to help us identify the most relevant aspect of the assessment to which it relates.

Unfortunately at this time we are unable to accept any response by post.

Evidence should be received by 18^th September 2020

The CCRA3 Technical Chapters Project Team

Writing of the CCRA3 technical chapters are being led by the following experts:

Prof Richard Betts MBE (University of Exeter and Met Office – Project Director)
Prof Dame Julia Slingo DBE FRS (University of Exeter)
Paul Watkiss (Paul Watkiss Associates)
Dr Pam Berry (University of Oxford)
Dr Iain Brown (University of Dundee)
Dr Ruth Wood (University of Manchester)
Prof Lee Chapman (University of Birmingham)
Dr David Jaroszweski (University of Birmingham)
Dr Sari Kovats (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine)
Rachel Brisley (JBA Consulting)
Dr Swenja Surminski (London School of Economics)
Prof Andy Challinor (University of Leeds)
Prof Tim Benton (University of Leeds and Chatham House)

Around 300 experts from approximately 85 organisations are also contributing to the chapter writing and other components of the CCRA3 process. The CCRA3 programme as a whole is being managed by the Committee on Climate Change. More background on CCRA3 can be found here.

Follow-up on the inclusion of evidence in the CCRA3 Technical Chapters.

We expect that some evidence contributors will want to check how we have referred to their evidence in the write-up of the evidence report. Please include in your submission whether you wish to review sections of the report where your evidence has been used as requested above.

The author team reserves the right to make final decisions on which sources of evidence to include in the report. We may decide not to include your evidence for a number of reasons, e.g.

If it does not directly help us to analyse the risks and opportunities from climate change for the UK.
If it is not deemed to be robust.
If it does not include enough background information or data to allow us to understand the method, assumptions and results.
If it is not in English.

We will send confirmation on receipt of your submission. The chapter team will not follow up on submissions as a matter of course, but we may get in touch to ask questions or seek clarification on some submissions, particularly when considering how the evidence may be used. This follow up may occur any time up to 31^st December 2020. If we do not use your evidence, we will provide a justification for this decision on request.

Accountability, confidentiality and data protection

The CCRA3 Evidence Report is an independent report. The chapter team will hold sole responsibility and accountability for how evidence has been used and interpreted in the technical chapters. Final decisions for how evidence is used in the technical chapters will rest with the chapter team. Please note that the CCRA3 technical chapters will be independently peer-reviewed. The Evidence Report will also include a Synthesis Report produced by the CCC.

The names of individuals or organisations who have submitted evidence may be published on our website after the response deadline. We will not automatically publish copies of the submissions sent, but these will be referred to in the evidence report itself where we have made use of the relevant evidence.

If you want the information that you provide to be treated as confidential, please say so clearly in writing when submitting your evidence. It would be helpful if you could explain to us why you regard the information you have provided as confidential. If we receive a request for disclosure of the information we will take full account of your explanation, but we cannot give an assurance that confidentiality can be maintained in all circumstances. An automatic confidentiality disclaimer generated by your IT system will not, of itself, be regarded by us as a confidentiality request.

All information provided in response to this consultation, including personal information, may be subject to publication or disclosure in accordance with the access to information legislation (primarily the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004).