Source · Select Committees · Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 15
15
Not Addressed
Publish five-yearly climate report for British Antarctic Territory and South Atlantic territories.
Recommendation
The British Antarctic Territory and South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands are among the UK Overseas Territories most exposed to climate change. Yet regular, integrated reporting of their environmental status is lacking. We recommend that the British Antarctic Survey publish a five- yearly climate report for the British Antarctic Territory and associated South Atlantic territories, covering glaciology, oceanography, and biodiversity. This should contribute to an Antarctic-wide ‘report card’, 96 aligned with ATS processes and modelled on the successful Arctic Report Card, to support transparent tracking and international cooperation. (Recommendation, Paragraph 101)
Government Response Summary
The government's response details existing reporting by SCAR and strategic objectives related to environmental protection, but does not commit to the specific recommendation for BAS to publish a new five-yearly climate report for the British Antarctic Territory.
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
19. Within the Antarctic Treaty system, climate change and the state of Antarctica are high on the agenda. In 2022, the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) presented an updated version of its landmark report ‘Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment: A Decadal Synopsis and Recommendations for Action’ to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM). This provided an overview of current and future changes across Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, and recommendations for the ATCM. SCAR continues to report the latest findings on climate change to the ATCM, including through an annual update during the opening plenary of the meeting. 20. The British Antarctic Territory Strategy 2019–2029 contains several objectives related to the protection of the Territory’s environment, including to provide support to BAS in their efforts to conduct world-class Antarctic science and support the UK’s wider Antarctic science community; to support projects which provide research or support environmental protection issues for BAT, including to assess the impacts of climate change; and to support efforts to protect and study the marine environment in BAT. Likewise, the Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Island’s five-year stewardship framework also highlights marine protection and building future resilience as two of the seven priority themes.