Climate Change and Travel Plans Robert Mulvaney William Ray Rod Downie TfW Network Breakfast 12 June 2007

Contents 1.Climate Change – The evidence from Antarctica 2.BAS Carbon Reduction Strategy 3.BAS Cambridge Site Travel Plan

Variations of the Earths surface temperature for the past 140 years – meteorological records IPCC 2002

The increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere

Extraction produces about 100mL air per kg ice

Stable Isotopes course, 2007 Seasonal cycles in 18 O and D in a shallow ice core Annual layer Summer Winter

European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica (EPICA) Dome C: aimed to collected oldest ice Drilling finished in December 2004 Depth of 3270m (i.e. 2 miles of ice core!) 800,000 years of climate history (almost 2 times older than previous oldest ice)

Deuterium/Hydrogen ratio of Dome C ice Siegenthaler et al., Science (2005) Petit et al., Nature (1999) CO 2 concentration in Dome C ice CO 2 concentration in Vostok ice CO 2 (ppm) Deuterium/Hydrogen ratio of Dome C ice 600,000400,000200,000100,000300,000500,000700,000Present years ago D (per mil) Temperature and carbon dioxide have been closely linked over the past years Glacial Interglacial Today 380

Modern day CO 2 level and rate of change is unprecedented over the last years 1000 years ago Temperature from Vostok ice CO 2 in Vostok ice 150 CO 2 in Law Dome ice CO 2 at Mauna Loa, Hawaii Etheridge et al., JGR (1996) Petit et al., Nature (1999) ,000100,00050,000 years AD Temperature change ( o C) CO 2 (ppm) : 380 ppm Increasing at 2 ppm per year Lowest possible stabilisation by % chance of limiting global warming to 2 o C Business as usual CO 2 level by 2100 Double pre-industrial CO 2 level Dangerous climate change likely Fastest rate of change: 30 ppm increase over 1000 years 30 ppm increase over last 17 years

Energy CO 2 76% 11%9% 4% 4% +

What is in the Carbon Reduction Strategy: Do better accounting, monitoring and reporting Educate staff Make operational changes (no work impact) Install energy efficiency upgrades & retrofits Install Renewable and alternative energy Develop innovative science infrastructure Reduce scale/intensity of operationsX Use alternative fuelsX Buy outside carbon offsetsX

What is the impact of the Strategy? >20% less CO 2 from Cambridge & Antarctic Stations by 2012 >5% less CO 2 from ships by % less CO 2 overall Transport –Carbon accounting & budgets by division –All new purchases to be best of breed –Staff education – video conferencing –Retrofits to ships –More innovative science infrastructure

Aim: to encourage the use of sustainable travel options and to reduce our carbon footprint Sits within BASs EMS (ISO 14001) Agreed October 2006 Action Plan with Short, Medium and Long Term goals Cambridge Site Travel Plan

Video-conferencing e.g. NERC Green Team meetings, Antarctic Tourism Meeting-Hobart Travel information on web and staff inductions BAS Bicycle Users Group Lift-share database Cambridge Site Travel Plan

Web based lift-share scheme: BAS staff sharing lift from Welwyn 3 days week Reduces combined mileage by 210 miles/ week Combined carbon reduction (11 to 7.7 tonnes p/a) Widen scope to High Cross site users BAS Lift-Share Database

Greenhouse gases and climate have been closely correlated for at least the last years, but todays level of GH gases are unprecedented BAS Carbon Reduction Strategy - 7-9% less CO 2 by 2012 across our operations Site travel plan an integral part of EMS at BAS Cambridge Summary