Climate news - 22 March 2023

Met Office sent this bulletin at 22-03-2023 11:12 AM GMT

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Climate newsletter

Issue 42 | 22 March 2023

Spotlight on 'mitigation'

During March, we have been focusing some of our climate science communications on mitigation. Mitigation describes efforts to reduce or remove emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane (CH₄) which are causing our planet to warm.

Read our FAQ on mitigation here

Climate action for a safer future

Food market with fruit and vegetables. Image: Shutterstock

Our latest blog explores what actions people can consider taking in their lives that will have the greatest impact when it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Many of these changes also have co-benefits – that’s to say they might also reduce costs, improve air quality or have a positive impact on health and wellbeing.

Read the blog post here

Over half of the public making low-carbon decisions

Polling on the perceptions of climate change

In a YouGov survey, a representative sample of the British public was asked about the action they are taking to reduce their carbon footprint and their perceptions on if people in the UK are doing enough to reduce their carbon footprint.

The data shows 59% of those surveyed are making conscious decisions to live a low-carbon lifestyle, including 17% who make these decisions even when it is inconvenient for them.

When asked if people in the UK are doing enough to lower their carbon footprints, nearly two thirds (65%) of respondents said we should be doing more.

Read our press release here

'Mitigation: A road to Net Zero' webinar

Yesterday, the Met Office hosted a webinar – Mitigation: a road to Net Zero.

We were joined by partners from the University of Leeds, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and the Civil Aviation Authority to consider what is meant by Net Zero. We looked at the UK Government’s priorities for achieving their aim of reaching Net Zero by 2050. We considered the science backdrop and how weather and climate science can help with the implementation of Net Zero, also sharing lessons learnt by the Met Office in implementing our Net Zero strategy. Finally, we discussed industry sustainability and the value of weather and climate science.

Watch the webinar recording here

Talking mitigation

Join us on Wednesday 29 March at 4pm for a Twitter Spaces live conversation on this topic. Met Office meteorologist and presenter Alex Deakin will be speaking with colleagues and guests about their unique insights. Follow @metoffice to listen to their conversation which will also be available on-demand following the event.

To learn more about mitigation, follow the #GetClimateReady hashtag on Twitter to see what we have been sharing this month.

In the news

IPCC synthesis report

This week, the IPCC published AR6 Synthesis Report, which brings together the findings of the three previous AR6 volumes on the Physical Science, Mitigation and Adaptation published over the last couple of years.

The report underscores the need for immediate action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to keep warming to 1.5 °C and adapt to human-caused climate change which threatens societies and human wellbeing.

Our scientists reveal that cutting emissions to half of 1990 levels by 2030 are the scale of what is required for compliance with the aim of 1.5 °C and to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. But even this level of cut only yields around a 50 per cent chance of staying at or below the 1.5 °C target.

Limiting warming to 1.5 °C may involve relying on measures to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. Potentially, this could cool the Earth back to 1.5 °C by the end of the Century, after exceeding it (overshoot) in the coming decades.

The science in today’s report provides all the necessary evidence to encourage greater ambition around adaptation and mitigation to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. 

Read our press release here

Met Office's Aidan Mcgivern discussed the key points of the IPCC's synthesis report with Met Office scientists Dr Chris Jones and Prof Richard Betts and the University of Exeter's Dr Anna Harper.

Watch the video here

What's coming up

World Meteorological Day

Thursday 23 March is World Meteorological Day. Hosted by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the aim of World Meteorological Day is to highlight the importance of international cooperation to effectively plan for weather and climate events and to manage shared water resources.

The theme of this year’s event is ‘The future of weather, climate and water across generations.’ We'll be sharing content about the event throughout the day. Stay tuned to our social channels for the latest updates.

Learn more about World Meteorological Day 2023

Join the conversation

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