An Aberdeen University professor at the forefront of a groundbreaking new climate change study believes that Scotland has the potential to become a world leader in the race to save the planet.
Lecturer Peter Smith spoke out as research today reveals the catastrophic consequences of global warming, including a rise in civil wars and famine.
The UN paper describes how Caribbean beaches could be wiped out, Alpine ski resorts could disappear and African communities could be left without food – unless urgent action is taken to cut greenhouse gases.
Prof Smith is one of many academics from across the world who have contributed to the UN paper. He is calling for further investment in offshore wind power projects. The report also blames climate change for the decline of several species of birds in Scotland.
Dotterels and kittiwakes are said to be among the birds dying out due to changes to the environment.
The study was commissioned for the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and will be announced at an event in Yokohama, Japan.
The findings come as a separate environmental report predicts that future cities could be filled with glowing buildings and trees.
Experts say that a spray-on light could be used to illuminate parks, town centres and alleyways, making conventional street lighting less necessary. Prof Smith, who has been researching climate change for the past 20 years, used computer models to examine potential environmental impacts on agriculture and forestry. “One of the greatest challenges that faces us in this century is climate change,” he said.
“It bears significant impacts in terms of the extreme events we have seen in the UK over the course of this winter, such as the flooding in England.”
Prof Smith said: “Agriculture accounts for 20% of greenhouse gas emissions and that’s driven by our demand for food.
“Livestock products have a far greater greenhouse footprint than vegetable products, so the more meat we eat the worse it is for the climate.”
He added: “We need to invest some of our efforts and skills in renewable energy technologies, such as offshore wind.
“We have a lot of renewable energy in Scotland, so we have the potential to become a world leader in it.
“It is a windy country with a big coastline, so we could be trapping some of the energy from waves.”
Figures from the Department of Energy and Climate Change show that renewable energy matches 15% of the UK’s power demand and supplies nearly half of Scotland’s energy mix.
The UN report, which was lead by professor Chris Field of the Carnegie Institution of Science in California, suggests that climate change will create “pockets of vulnerability” around the world.
The publication also warns that in Europe, heat waves, droughts and heavy rainstorms will increase and there will be a greater risk of coastal and river flooding. Heat-related deaths will also rise.
Prof Field said this weekend: “It is not just about loss of life among the poor. Wealthy people can be vulnerable too, especially as a result of poor planning.”
Yesterday, former archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams warned that flooding in parts of England over the winter was a portent of what is likely to come in the future.
He blamed the lifestyle of western countries for climate change, which he said is “pushing the environment towards crisis”.
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