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John Battle MP doing his bit to help wildlife adapt to a changing climate

John Battle MP pledged to help our wildlife to adapt to the world’s changing climate.  He attended The Wildlife Trusts’ event in the House of Commons where they celebrated the milestone of 100 Living Landscape schemes covering one million hectares around the UK.  These schemes help wildlife prepare for the advent of climate change. 

Mr Battle said ‘I am delighted to help The Wildlife Trusts, including the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, who do such great work in my constituency, deliver on their Living Landscape vision.  It is clear we must now prepare for the inevitable impact of climate change and its effect on our natural environment.  As the Climate Change Bill now includes measures to put climate change adaptation on the Government agenda.  Parliamentarians, like myself, have a vital role to ensure that the natural environment on which we all depend, is central to these policies and programmes.’

He continued, “West Leeds has the special resource of the West Leeds green wedge going up the River Aire.  Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s assistance in keeping areas such as Kirkstall green and enhancing flowers, plants and animals for the whole community could prove invaluable.”

The effects of climate change will result in many plants and animals needing to move in search of suitable conditions:  a 2ºC rise in temperature could shift the natural range of some species by more than 150 miles to the north or nearly 1,000 ft up hillsides.  The Wildlife Trusts’ Living Landscape schemes aim to facilitate this process by enlarging specially protected areas, joining them up and ‘greening’ the places that are more hostile to plants and animals such as urban areas.

©John Battle MP 11 October 2008