About UKCP09: What users wanted
 

The UK climate

UK Climate Projections (UKCP09)

About UKCP09

Using UKCP09

Key findings

FAQ

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What users wanted

Compared to previous UK climate change scenarios, the development and delivery of UKCP09 reflects users' requirements to a greater extent than before.

There have been two main areas of user engagement:

UKCP09 user consultation
UKCP09 users' panel

1. UKCP09 user consultation

UKCIP has consulted with a wide range of stakeholders to determine user preferences for the format and delivery of UKCP09.

The results are summarised as follows. Many of the issues raised have influenced and informed the development of UKCP09. The final consultation report is available using the links below.

  • A majority of respondents had used the UKCIP02 climate change scenarios, most commonly accessing them through the summary report, technical report or electronic maps.

  • There is a wide spectrum of user needs and the UKCIP02 scenarios have been employed for a broad range of uses. These can be crudely divided into those associated with specific research, policy or design decisions, and those associated with general awareness-raising and communication.

  • The clear presentation of the UKCIP02 climate change scenarios, particularly the language and maps were said to make them easy to use.

  • Cited barriers to the use of UKCIP02 included the spatial resolution, treatment of uncertainties, format and access.

  • A slight preference for 30-year time-slices.

  • A strong preference for using 1961–1990 as the baseline period.

  • A slight preference for having aggregated results for administrative ‘regions' (the English regions and devolved administrations) and river catchments.

  • Considerable interest in using future daily time-series, though a general lack of experience in using weather generators to produce this information.

  • A preference for visualising modelled climate change scenarios as pre-prepared PDF graphs and maps, as well as the underlying information, for both individual 25 x 25 km grid squares and larger aggregated areas.

  • A majority of respondents use current-day weather and climate information in their decision-making.

  • A majority of respondents have some degree of awareness about the vulnerability of their sector or organisation to present-day future climate risks, though few thresholds are known.

  • Most respondents to the web-based consultation require climate change information on a timescale of the next 20–50 years. Participants at meetings and workshops indicated a preference for nearer-term climate change information (next 10 years or less).

  • Further analysis reveals that different user groups can be described based on how climate information is used. For some responses to the web-based consultation, preferences from each user group differ significantly from the overall totals. These include preferences for spatial aggregation and delivery of probabilistic climate change information.

Consultation report (pdf format)

Consultation report - Appendices (pdf format)

Consultation sessions were also held at several events and meetings. Write-ups are available for some of these:

     
 
Event name Date
UKCIP User Forum 2004 (Newcastle) – Write-up available
24 Feb 04
Energy sector workshop
13 April 05 
UK Water Industry Research (UKWIR) meeting
23 May 05
London Urban Heat Island workshop
19 Aug 05
OFWAT meeting
28 Sep 05
Environment Agency meeting
17 Oct 05
Inter-regional Climate Change Coordinators Group meeting
17 Oct 05
CLIFFS (Climate Impacts Forecasting for Slopes) workshop – Write-up available 26 Oct 05
UKCIP User Forum 2005 (Birmingham )
1 Nov 05
Sectoral workshops at Adaptation Policy Framework (APF) events – Write-up available
8/16 Nov 05 
South West Climate Change Impacts Partnership (SWCCIP) meeting
11 Jan 06 
Scottish Climate Impacts Partnership (SNIFFER) workshop – Write-up available
15 May 06
South East Climate Change Partnership (SECCP) workshop – Write-up available
15 Jun 06
Commission for Architecture & the Built Environment (CABE) workshop –
Write-up available

14 Sep 05 
Association of British Insurers (ABI) workshop
27 Sep 05
Agricultural & Rural products and service providers (ARPSP) workshop –
Write-up available
28 Sep 05 
   

2. UKCP09 users' panel

The UKCP09 users' panel is a group of users of climate change scenarios, who help inform decisions about the development and delivery of UKCP09.

The users' panel was formed in January 2007, and will remain as a group beyond in order to guide further development and accompanying guidance and training for UKCP09.

More information is available on the UKCP09 users' panel web-page.

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