Up to 1.5 million UK properties could be flooded because of rising seas caused by melting Arctic ice, noted members of the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee’s Sub-Committee on Polar Research[ГВА1] in their report.
According to the committee members, additional evidence proves that changes in the Arctic environment could cause more extreme weather phenomena in the UK.
Chair of the Polar Research Sub-Committee, James Gray[ГВА2] , urged the government to appoint a polar envoy and said: “Whitehall has not been paying enough attention to the Arctic and is a missing an opportunity[ГВА3] .
“The fact that the ministers have not yet met indicates a lack of enthusiasm on Arctic matters in the heart of government: they must meet quarterly given the drastic changes we are seeing in our Arctic[ГВА4] area.”
According to the report, most of the Arctic remains insufficiently studied, and it is necessary to obtain more information on how a changing Arctic environment could impact people’s lives.
In their report, the committee members noted that the Arctic was heating up four times faster than the rest of the world. They urged the government to include the Arctic on the political agenda and to show greater ambitions in reducing domestic greenhouse gas emissions and to spearhead efforts to protect Arctic science all over the world.
