Online climate change projections report Annex 1.1 Background
We need to make some assumptions about future emissions of greenhouse gases (and other pollutants) from human activities in order to make projections of UK climate change over the next century. Because we cannot know how emissions will change, we use instead a number of possible scenarios of these, selected from the IPCC (Nakicenovic and Swart, 2000). These correspond to a set of comprehensive global narratives, or storylines, that define local, regional and global socio-economic driving forces of change such as economy, population, technology, energy and agriculture – key determinants of the future emissions pathway. The scenarios are alternative conceptual futures to which no probabilities can be attached.
SRES emissions scenarios are structured in four major families labelled A1, A2, B1 and B2, each of which represents a different storyline. They are commonly shown as in Figure A1.1, in which the vertical axis represents the degree to which society is economically or environmentally oriented in the future, whilst the horizontal axis refers to the degree of globalisation. All scenarios are non-interventionist, that is, they assume that emissions will not be changed in response to concerns over climate change.
The A1 storyline describes a future world of very rapid economic growth, and a population that increases from 5.3 billion in 1990 to peak in 2050 at 8.7 billion and then declines to 7.1 billion in 2100. Rapid introduction of new and efficient technologies is assumed, as is convergence among regions, including large reductions in regional differences in Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Within the A1 family are three subgroups, referring to high use of fossil fuels (A1FI), high use of non-fossil energy sources (A1T) or an intermediate case (A1B).
The B1 storyline also describes a convergent, more equitable world, and has the same population scenario as the A1 storyline: however, rapid changes in economic structures towards a service and information economy are assumed, with reductions in material intensity, and the introduction of clean and resource-efficient technologies. Global solutions are found to economic, social and environmental sustainability.
The High, Medium, and Low emission scenarios in the UKCP09 report correspond to the A1FI, A1B and B1 SRES scenarios. The High and Low emission scenarios are the same as those of the same name used in UKCIP02. They span almost the full range of SRES scenarios, with cumulative (2000–2100) CO2 emissions of 2189 GtC and 983 GtC respectively. SRES A2 and B2 storylines, with higher, continuously increasing population scenarios (to 15.1 and 10.4 billion in 2100 respectively), are not used in UKCP09, as the population assumed in the A2 storyline is significantly higher than the high end of current projections.
Extreme high or low emissions scenarios, for example very high rates of fossil fuel combustion or strong mitigation in response to concerns over climate change, are also not considered in the projections available from UKCP09. The UKCP09 Low emissions scenario (SRES B1) does, according to some models, result in approximate stabilisation of CO2 concentrations between about 500 ppm and 600 ppm. However, when the full (ocean and land) climate-carbon cycle feedback is included, as is done in UKCP09, then the CO2 concentrations will vary over a wide range.
- Last updated: Sunday, 11 March 2012