The BGS Climate Change Programme is addressing climate change issues through a variety of focused efforts. We at the heart of community efforts to: observe past and present climate, understand those observations, and predict future climates and the environmental responses to those climates. Our partners include many of the UK's finest universities and the research centres and facilities of the Natural Environment Research Council. Objectives include: a) to assess stocks of carbon in the soil and understand future emissions to the atmosphere as temperatures rise and microbial activity increases; b) to undertake organic chemistry research into pollution and climate in several UK and international estuaries; c) to assess environmental change in response to climate ; d) paleoclimate e) studies on peat ; f) sustainable soils .