Source · Select Committees · Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 24
24
Accepted
Accelerating environmental changes are severely impacting Antarctica's biodiversity, requiring urgent science-led responses.
Conclusion
The accelerating environmental changes in Antarctica, driven by climate change, sea ice loss, and increasing human activity, are having serious and compounding impacts on the continent’s biodiversity. These changes demand urgent, science led responses. (Conclusion, Paragraph 141)
Government Response Summary
The government partially accepts, explaining that current Antarctic research priorities and existing funding through UKRI and the National Academies, including over £900m allocated for 2025/26, are already focused on understanding biodiversity changes and other impacts of climate change.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The Government partially accepts this recommendation. 32. Historically, the study of terrestrial ecosystems was a major focus of all Antarctic research programmes since it was a readily accessible environment for science expeditions. With the advent of new scientific understanding, technologies, methods and logistics, investigation of a greater variety of Antarctic environments is now critical to understand how the rapid climate change we are seeing in this region is impacting the global environment and the lives of people across the planet. Priorities in Antarctic terrestrial research now include understanding biodiversity changes in Antarctica resulting from warming, especially in microbial communities, and the introduction of alien species from outside the continent. 33. DSIT supports the development of talented researchers across the range of discipline and career levels, principally through funding to UKRI and the four National Academies. In the last SR (2022/23–24/25), this was backed by more than £2.5bn of funding, and over £900m has been allocated to UKRI and the Academies for 2025/26. This ensures the UK continues to support ground-breaking discovery and applied research, and can attract, develop, and retain talented scientists, researchers and innovators across all career stages. 34. Funding for Antarctic terrestrial science is available to UK researchers on a competitive basis, from NERC and other funders including EU programmes. BAS is prioritising its research on areas of Antarctic change that have a global impact.