Welcome to the RESPONSE Project Homepage
30 July, 2008

'Response' (or 'Responding to the risks from climate change') is a three-year Project supported by the LIFE financial instrument of the European Community, launched in December 2006. The Project provides a framework for understanding and preparing for the impacts of climate change around the European coastline.

The RESPONSE Project publications can assist organisations managing the coastline in assessing and prioritising the risks arising from climate change impacts on natural hazards, to inform the planning process.

The Project has demonstrated regional-scale mapping of coastal evolution and risks, taking account of the impacts of climate change. It has also examined the current and future costs of coastal natural hazards, to encourage cost-effective solutions. Nine Partner organisations in the United Kingdom, Italy, France and Poland have participated, led by the Isle of Wight Council's Centre for the Coastal Environment, UK.

Issues addressed by the Project include:

• The impacts of climate change for coastal communities
• Erosion, landsliding and flooding hazards now and in the future
• Identifying areas of increasing risk
• Advising decision-makers on managing coastal and climate change

Our target audience:

The RESPONSE Project will help local and regional authorities and other coastal stakeholders to recognise areas of increasing risk as a result of climate change and to identify potential solutions.

Climate change - the challenge:

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts that climate change impacts will include sea-level rise, increased winter rainfall and more intense storm activity -a growing threat for many coastal communities affected by coastal erosion, flooding and landsliding, and an increasing challenge for the local and regional authorities responsible for addressing the resulting risks.

"Winning the battle against climate change concerns us all. The time of theoretical debates about climate change is over, we need practical and effective actions."
EC Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas (Brussels, 7th July 2006; SPEECH/06/444)

"We need to adapt to the climate change that is inevitable because of the massive accumulation of past emissions. We are far from helpless in the face of this challenge. There are many things we can do to reduce risks and protect ourselves from the extreme weather associated with climate change. Climate change still tends to be perceived as an environmental concern. But it has profound implications for jobs, growth, health and almost all other aspects of human well-being, including security."
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan (New York, 28th September 2006; SG/SM/10665/ENV/DEV/903)

News
RESPONSE Project International Conference, May 2007:
“Landslides & Climate Change –Challenges and Solutions”

Proceedings & presentations available! click here for more information