55. Webinar: Wet 10 Livery Companies – Managing our Oceans – The Climate Change Challenge, March 21, 2022

 


The Wet 10 is an informal group of Livery Companies, both users and suppliers of water. We all depend on water in one way or another and all share a common concern for the long-term health of the water environment. Our aim is to promote awareness, to contribute to debate and to be an influence for the good in this key area. 

On the eve of World Water Day, the Company presented its webinar: Managing Our Oceans - The Climate Change Challenge. The speakers were Professor Deborah Greaves and Professor Gerd Masselink, from the World-renowned University of Plymouth.

 





 

 

Harnessing the Oceans’ Energy 

Professor Greaves reviewed the development of offshore renewable energy, which has long been recognised as having huge potential. The UK has the second highest tidal range in the world and there are estimates that around 50% of Europe’s tidal energy resource and 35% of European wave resource lies in UK waters, having the potential to make a massive contribution to green energy. In partnerships with Government and the private sector, progress is being made to harness the energy, but the technology is challenging. By contrast the UK’s offshore wind infrastructure contributed nearly 10% of the UK’s power in the third quarter of 2019. Research is being undertaken to move further into deeper waters with the development of floating offshore wind farms. The overall offshore wind capacity is set to quadruple in the next ten years.

Managing The Impact of Climate Change On Our Coastline

Professor Gerd Masselink has specific interest in the impact of coastal hazards, such as storms and sea-level rise, on coastal environments. His talk focused on the potential impact of climate change on our coastal environment and communities. For the past decade, his research has focussed on measuring and modelling the impacts of extreme storms and sea-level rise, with a specific emphasis on the southwest coast England and the Atlantic coast of Europe. He has used this enhanced understanding of coastal impacts to develop methods and tools to predict future coastlines, in order to identify suitable climate change adaptation strategies. Surprising to many people was the fact that the biggest driver for sea level rise was the thermal expansion of the oceans consequential upon global warming.

The webinar was well attended, with participants from Livery Companies, academia and individuals. Fleet Warden Colin Drummond thanked the speakers for their clear presentations, and the comfort that world class research is well advanced in these crucial actions against the impacts of climate change.

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