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26 Aug 1998
Climate change may already be polluting our rivers, the Environment Agency warns today.Friends of the Earth has reacted with “shock” to the news that water quality has got worse each year since 1995 [1], and that according to the EA a “clear weather-related effect has emerged”, with quality falling fastest in drought-hit areas of Britain.
Friends of the Earth is demanding that Prime Minister Tony Blair should call publicly for urgent action by the United States, to ratify its promise to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 6 per cent by 2012 at the latest. The US produces more than one fifth of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, far more than any other country. But the US Congress has still not ratified the historic climate change treaty agreed in Kyoto, Japan last December.
Opposition to action on climate change comes mostly from Republican politicians, backed by multi-million dollar lobbying by the fossil fuel industry. Oil and car companies such as Esso, Ford, Texaco, Mobil and Amoco are members of the “Global Climate Coalition”(GCC), an industry lobby group campaigning against action on climate change.
Anna Stanford, Climate Campaigner at Friends of the Earth said:
“This new research comes as a real shock. Climate change may already be coming back to haunt us all, in the pollution of the water we depend on for life.The US Congress - bought up by US oil companies - is blocking a historic international agreement, which is crucial for the future quality of life on the planet. We want Mr Blair to act now. The 'special relationship' means nothing if Britain cannot demand that the US meets its duty to fight climate change.”
Scientists predict that climate change may result in more frequent summer water shortages in the UK particularly in the south and east. This would cut the amount of water for public supply, irrigation, navigation, recreation and wildlife. Meanwhile demand is likely to increase through warmer summers and new house building. Climate change is expected to result in an additional 5% increase in water demand, on top of the 12% increase already predicted from factors such as a growth in the number of households [1].
Rivers and wetlands are already suffering from over-abstraction. English Nature - the Government's statutory adviser on wildlife - has identified 80 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) that require action by water companies to protect them from abstraction and sewage effluent [2].
Water companies must also move from meeting all demands, to managing demand by encouraging the use of water efficient domestic appliances such as washing machines and low flush toilets. Wildlife legislation must be strengthened to protect river and wetland SSSIs from over abstraction and sewage effluent.
[2] English Nature, RSPB (1998). Investing in Wildlife. Peterborough: English Nature.
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