Oxford University researchers say climate change and floods linked
Wed 16 February 2011
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Greenhouse gas emissions due to human activity substantially increased the odds of damaging floods occurring in England and Wales in Autumn 2000 according to new research from Oxford University which has been published in the journal Nature.
This is believed to be the first time that scientists have cited human-induced climate change as being the root cause of a major weather event and the findings could represent a major development in climate science.
Myles Allen of Oxford University, who led the research said: "It shows climate change is acting here and now to load the dice towards more extreme weather."
Professor Bob Watson, Chief Scientific Adviser to the Defra and former chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said: "This is ground-breaking work. The research shows human-induced climate change is not an issue for the next decades or century: it is an issue facing us today."
The Guardian report says that the research may also have significant financial consequences by determining which countries benefit from the future $100bn-a-year UN adaptation fund which aims to build resilience against the impacts of climate change. The work also makes lawsuits against major polluters more likely, according to a leading barrister and expert on climate litigation.
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