Climate Change

Climate change

There is strong evidence that humans are changing the climate with their actions, through the release of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane.

Causes of climate change

Natural causes or human activity

 A variety of factors, both natural and human, can influence the Earth’s climate system. The world's climate varies naturally as a result of:

• The relationship between the ocean and the atmosphere
• Changes in the Earth's orbit
• Changes in energy received from the Sun
• Volcanic eruptions

Climate change in Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland, disruption to business, services and people's daily lives will increase if adverse changes occur.

An increased risk of flooding and coastal wear will put pressure on drainage, sewage, roads, water and habitat.

Increased temperature, increased pollution and poorer air quality may bring discomfort to the vulnerable and threaten species of animals and crops. 

In Northern Ireland, the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions are:

• Agriculture (27 per cent) - for example methane releases from livestock and manure, and other gases from chemical fertilisers
• Transport (23 per cent) – there is a reliance on road use in Northern Ireland
• Energy  (17 per cent) - the use of fuel to generate energy (excluding transport)
• Residential use of fuel (13 per cent) - the energy used in your home (the main use is heating)

Other things in people's homes contribute to climate change indirectly. Everything, from furniture to computers, from clothes to carpets, uses energy when it is produced and transported. This causes emissions to be released. Reusing and recycling instead of throwing items away will mean less waste and less energy needed to make new items.

Preparing for climate change

UK climate change projections, published in 2018 (UKCP18), set out a range of possible outcomes over the next century. They are based on different rates of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.

UKCP18 projects greater chance of hotter, drier summers and warmer, wetter winters with more extreme weather and rising sea levels. The highest predicted releases for Northern Ireland shows that by:

• 2070 winters could be up to 3.9 °C warmer and summers could be up to 4.9°C hotter
• 2070 winters could be 25 per cent wetter and summers 38 per cent drier
• 2100 sea levels in Belfast could rise by up to 94cms

  Changes you can make to your home and garden

Cool your home naturally instead of using air conditioning, which can damage the environment:

• Create a breeze by opening the windows at the highest and lowest points or on opposite sides of the house
• Open windows at night and close windows, curtains or blinds during the day
• Planting deciduous trees in your garden (particularly on the south-facing side) can shade your house in summer and allow sun to shine through in winter when the leaves have fallen.
• Grow plants and vegetation on rooftops, after properly preparing the surface with soil and root barriers.

For more information on Climate Change and what it means for Northern Ireland, join Dr Annika Clements, Director of Nature, Climate & Environment to find out more about the risks and opportunities too for nature, which can play a vital role in helping us adapt to a changing climate when given the chance.

Event details

Meeting point Eventbrite

Date Wednesday 26 January 2022

Time 7:00pm - 8:00pm

Visit www.ulsterwildlife.org for more information.