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UK’s new online Climate Change Hub promotes Net Zero goal
The UK launched new online Climate Change Hub which centralizes the latest resources, information and guidance on climate change adaptation to support landowners, woodland managers and forestry practitioners in addressing climate change threats.
As the UK pursues the goal of Net Zero by 2050, the hub was given the go-ahead by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Forest Research, Scottish Forestry and Welsh Government on February 20, 2023.
The Climate Change Hub follows commitments set out within the recently published Environmental Improvement Plan to improve mitigation and adaptation to climate change.
The projected rate of climate change is unprecedented, from warmer summers to more frequent extreme conditions such as drought periods and heavy rainfall events. Action is needed now to improve the resilience of forests and woodlands, and to protect the benefits that they provide, including carbon sequestration.
The Climate Change Hub, managed by Forest Research, distills the latest information and UKFS (United Kingdom Forestry Standard) guidance on climate change adaptation to encourage uptake of adaptive practice by forest and woodland owners and managers. It provides concise information about risks from the changing climate, how to identify suitable adaptation measures and examples of how other managers are implementing adaptive practice.
There is no single recommended approach to climate change adaptation, as each woodland has different objectives and conditions. To enable managers to make informed decisions for their own woodlands, the Climate Change Hub also includes detailed guidance through the decision-making process, step-by-step, including information about the online tools available to support risk management and species choice.
Forestry Minister Trudy Harrison said “Trees and tree management are crucial parts of our plan to reach Net Zero by 2050, and resources such as the Climate Change Hub support the forest industry to make better, more informed and ultimately more sustainable decisions when it comes to tree planting and woodland management.”
Forestry Commission Chief Executive Richard Stanford said “Climate change will affect our trees, wood and forests. We need to ensure that our management practices ensure they thrive for the long term to ensure all the benefits they provide are maximized. Trees are a critical part of our endeavors to tackle climate change; trees are the most efficient and cost-effective method of capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The Climate Change Hub will allow all of us to see this critical information in one place for the first time, enabling land managers and foresters to make the best decisions for our planet on tree and forest management.”
Scottish Forestry’s Chief Executive Dave Signorini said “I’m excited to launch the new Climate Change Hub – a one-stop shop for resources on protecting woodland and forests from the risks of climate change. Trees have a significant role in climate change adaptation and resilience, providing habitats for wildlife, reducing flooding, and absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and we want to help people understand how best to achieve that.
“The new Climate Change Hub will help empower the forestry sector here in Scotland to sustainably manage woodland and forests to deliver benefits for our environment, economy and communities.”
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