McInnes: Heed Aberdeen academic's climate warning

5.13.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 2nd Jun 2008

Liberal Democrat Climate Change spokesperson and Aberdeenshire MSP Alison McInnes today urged the Scottish Government to present a clear climate action plan in the light of an Aberdeen University professor's warning regarding current climate trends.

Ms McInnes said: "Whilst everyone seems willing to pay lip service to the likely consequences of global warming, there is a notable lack of action, including in Scotland."

"It is not acceptable to wait and see, on the off chance that the scientific consensus is wrong. The stakes are far too high."

Speaking in Parliament, Alison McInnes last week criticised the Government for squandering the opportunity to take decisive action on climate change.

She said: "Setting an emissions target is important, but taking action that will allow that target to be met is where the real work lies, and that work should have started already. The climate change bill must be robust enough to result in specific actions across government, industry, and organisations, and to encourage individuals."

According to Professor Peter Clift at Aberdeen's School of Geosciences, increasingly violent Asian monsoons are anticipated to lead to catastrophic flooding in South and East Asia if current trends persist.

However, the same global warming is then expected to push the monsoons to a 'tipping point', heralding a dramatic and rapid weakening of the summer rains, resulting in catastrophic drought.

Commenting on Professor Clift's research, Ms McInnes continued: "The political implications of Professor Clift's research are not confined to humanitarian or development policy. Two thirds of the world's population live in monsoon areas so the disaster he predicts will have dramatic implications on conflict and migration. This will affect us in Western Europe, even if we escape the natural disasters that we, as major polluters, will be delivering to Southern Asia.

"We should not be willing to sit back and hope that Professor Clift is wrong."

In an Aberdeen University press release Peter Clift is quoted as saying: "Charting monsoons through history, links become obvious as to the effects changes in monsoon strength have had on Asian society. Major events which altered history can be seen to have coincided with certain climatic conditions. For example the Indian mutiny in the 19th century and the Indian independent movement in the early 20th century both occurred at a time when South Asia was experiencing critical drought conditions. Although societal changes have many complicated origins it is clear that the economic stress to society caused by rapid climate change is important in determining whether city states and countries prosper or collapse in revolution and upheaval."