Climate change is no longer in dispute. It is here. Even the climate change deniers can no longer justify themselves. We must learn to adapt, and quickly, if our food and energy supplies are to be maintained.
The Met Office have announced that 2012 was the wettest year on record for England and the third wettest for Wales, with four of the five wettest years on record occurring since the beginning of this century. The UK as a whole had 15% more rainfall than average during the year
Pippa Bartolotti, Wales Green Party Leader said: "Extreme weather means that rivers are flooding more often, and unseasonal droughts will occur more often. The first thing we must do is stop building on flood plains. The second thing we must do is change our building design so that every household can collect rainfall and harvest solar energy. It is not rocket science. The technology is already in use."
"Scientists widely predict that the planet will warm by 4 degrees Centigrade, and that will impact on our food supply in a way that we can barely imagine. Therefore, the third we must do is to ensure that our local farmers are empowered to adapt their crops to the changing climactic conditions.
She added, "It is very late in the day to mend the troubles caused by over-industrialization, but it is still possible. Eliminating our dependence on polluting fossil fuels is essential, and with an abundance of natural resources, Wales can more than satisfy its energy needs from sun, wind and wave. But we need to move fast."
The Green Party, as well as tirelessly arguing for clean energy, are keen to bring water supplies back into public ownership so that an integrated water harvest and supply strategy can be implemented and the effects of drought and flood minimised, particularly for the farms.
The Met Office have disclosed preliminary evidence suggesting the UK could be getting more annual rainfall and it may be falling in more intense downpours. The official forecasters said the country was getting wetter,
Professor Julia Slingo, chief scientist at the Met Office, said: "The trend towards more extreme rainfall events is one we are seeing around the world, in countries such as India and China, and now potentially here in the UK.
Pippa Bartolotti is the Leader of the Wales Green Party