About the project
The Foresight International Dimensions of Climate Change project used leading peer-reviewed science and a risk-based approach to analyse the future threats and opportunities to the UK from international climate change.
The project
Using leading peer-reviewed science, the project is important because it:
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Identifies important areas of potential impact. Academics, experts from the private sector, and policymakers were consulted to help identify areas for analysis. Seven broad areas were chosen: global governance and institutions, financial services and insurance, legislation, global infrastructure, physical resources and commodities, science and technology, and human health, movement, and human behaviour.
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Bases the analysis on scientific and other evidence. A wide range of existing research, articles and reports from academia, government and other sources were used to inform the project, including international studies on direct impacts of climate change carried out by countries with strong links to the UK. Reviews were also commissioned from leading academics and private sector experts to provide in-depth and independent analysis in the areas listed above, including climate modelling carried out by the UK Met Office Hadley Centre. These reviews are available for download on the Reports and Publications page.
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Identifies areas of uncertainty. On the time scales considered, many factors (including climate change projections, demographic change and economic and social trends) are subject to considerable uncertainty. In some instances the range of uncertainty can be described. In others, experts may disagree, or there will be more fundamental gaps in the evidence. Where uncertainties exist, their nature and extent are highlighted. It is important that they should not be seen as a limitation to the analysis but as an inevitable feature of the longer term. However, understanding the uncertainties ahead is crucial in understanding where policy development needs to be flexible and where new policies need to be robust to a range of possible outcomes.
Lead Expert Group
Professor Andrew Sentence, part-time professor of Sustainable Business at Warwick Business School and former member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, chaired the project’s Lead Expert Group. The group comprised leading academics in relevant disciplines and worked closely with the project team to ensure that the project’s findings were of the highest technical and scientific standard.
