Britain and Europe can expect more flooding but may benefit from reduced energy needs as global warming takes hold of the climate, according to a scientific report published yesterday.
Experts from the University of East Anglia have carried out the first comprehensive climate impact assessment for the EU, drawing new conclusions about the effects of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from traffic fumes and industry.
The 320-page report, Assessment of Potential Effects and Adaptations for Climate Change in Europe, warns that the adverse effects of climate change will be mainly felt on the poorer fringes and in southern Europe, with growing water shortage, forest fires and the expansion of deserts.
The presentation of the report at a London news conference comes before an international climate change conference at The Hague (COP 6) later this month, where world leaders will attempt to reach deals on carbon trading, to offset the worst effects of greenhouse gases on the planet.
Britain's Deputy Prime Minister, Mr John Prescott, and the Environment Minister, Mr Michael Meacher, will attend amid growing frustration at America's slow reaction to the increase in traffic fumes.
The urgency of the problem has been heightened by gales which recently lashed the UK causing death on the roads and damage to property, mainly in Kent and Sussex.
The southern Alps and northern Italian floodplain were also flooded, with loss of life during the same extreme weather event.
Funded by the EU, the report represents Europe's input to the Third Assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC) currently nearing completion and due to be published next summer.