§ Mrs. Virginia Bottomleyasked the Secretary of State for Defence how much money the Government have spent in the last 12 months on research into global warming caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere; and how much they expect to spend in the next 12 months on research into global warming.
§ Mr. LeeThe costs attributed to research on the global warming within the Meteorological Office research programme for 1984–85 are approximately £90,000. It is expected that expenditure on this item will continue at about the present level.
§ Mrs. Virginia Bottomleyasked the Secretary of State for Defence what measures Her Majesty's Government are taking in co-operation with other Governments in investigating the global warming phenomenon.
§ Mr. LeeThe Meteorological Office is playing a full part in international efforts to investigate climatic changes that might be caused by increased "greenhouse gas" concentrations, In addition to providing independent estimates of the effects, its scientists have been closely involved in the United States Department of Energy's "state-of-art" assessment of the carbon dioxide issue, due to be published soon, and it participated last month in an international conference at Villach, Austria, which prepared a statement for the guidance of Governments on the global warming. I have placed a copy of this statement in the Library.
§ Mrs. Virginia Bottomleyasked the Secretary of State for Defence what contingency plans the Government have made in anticipation of the majority scientific opinion that world temperatures will rise by at least 2° by 2050.
§ Mr. LeeDespite general agreement on the possibility of a warming, there is considerable scientific uncertainty as to its magnitude. Until the present disparities between independent estimates have been reduced substantially, or there are observations which demonstrate that the predicted warming is beginning to take place, contingency planning would be premature.