28.10.2009 

British high commissioner Matthew Forbes on Wednesday unveiled a copy of a map released by his government showing the devastating impact a 4°C rise in global temperature will have around the world.

He presented it to principal secretary for environment Didier Dogley, in the presence of the director general for climate environment services Wills Agricole and the director general for risk and disaster management Michel Vielle.

The map, showing the impact that climate change could have on our future security and prosperity, was published by the British Foreign Secretary David Miliband and Climate and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband after being produced by the UK Met Office’s Hadley Centre.

It also has contributions from scientists from other institutions conducting the latest research on climate change impacts. 
It shows that a four-degree average rise will not spread uniformly across the globe. The land will heat up more quickly than the sea, and high latitudes – particularly the Arctic – will have larger temperature increases. The average land temperature will be 5.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels.

Ahead of December’s key United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, the British government is pushing for an agreement that limits the temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius, because a higher increase will have a huge impact on the world.

Mr Forbes said: “We are the last generation that can stop this global catastrophe. Climate change is a critical issue for all countries, and the government of Seychelles and other vulnerable small island states have been very proactive supporters of efforts to reach a global deal in Copenhagen.”

Mr Dogley thanked the British government for producing the map, which he said is a very good document for educating people on what will happen if the temperature continues to rise.

“The water level is expected to rise by up to seven metres, so you can imagine what will happen to all our coralline islands and areas like Victoria town or the tourism establishments along the coast. For us it will be disastrous,” he said.

He said British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been coming out quite proactively, and his support for the efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions is most welcome. He hoped other European Union countries will also consider climate change issues more seriously.

The certainty is greater than 90% that human activity is the cause of climate change, according to the latest research. Human activities that contribute include, in particular, the burning of fossil fuels, agriculture and land-use changes like deforestation.

These cause emissions of carbon dioxide – the main gas responsible for climate change – and other greenhouse gases. 
To bring climate change to a halt, global greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced significantly. Levels of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide gases are rising, mainly as a result of human activities. Carbon dioxide is being dumped in the atmosphere at an alarming rate.

Mr Forbes also handed a number of disaster planning manuals to Mr Vielle.
The publications are designed to help minimise the potential damage to public and private sector business continuity and psychological damage to victims following a disaster.

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