§ Lord Rentonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Which constituencies will be wholly or considerably invaded by the sea by the year 2005 as a result of global warming, if the measures announced by the Prime Minister in May 1990 are not implemented, and which constituencies will be thus affected even if such measures are implemented.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of the Environment (Lord Hesketh): Working Group I of the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change has predicted, on the best current knowledge, that global mean sea level will rise by about 65cm by the end of the next century, possibly including a rise of 6cm by 2005. More detailed regional predictions of changes affecting the United Kingdom will not be possible until improvements in climate modelling are achieved. The design of coastal defences in the United Kingdom already allows for a sea-level rise of up to 30cm per century, and their capacity will continue to be kept under review in the light of emerging scientific knowledge.