According to the Climate Change Committee (CCC), there is a “striking” lack of climate preparation from UK government.
In the report on England’s adaptation progress, the CCC has published a new appraisal of the outcomes it says are needed to build climate resilience across the economy. The report also outlines the extent of policies and delivery it says are needed to build climate resilience.
The CCC is an independent, statutory body established under the Climate Change Act 2008. Progress in adapting to climate change – 2023 Report to Parliament provides the Committee’s biennial report of progress in preparing for climate change as required under the Climate Change Act.
It provides an assessment of progress at the end of two National Adaptation Programmes, the statutory programme required from government to help prepare the country for climate change. The second National Adaptation Programme covered the period of 2018 – 2023 and the third is due to be published in summer 2023.
It says that despite some evidence of improved sectoral planning by government for key climate risks, “fully credible” planning for climate change – where nearly all required policy milestones are in place – is only found for “five of the 45” adaptation outcomes examined in this report.
The government’s lack of urgency on climate resilience is in sharp contrast to the recent experience of people in this country.
The Committee also says that in none of the 45 adaptation outcomes was there sufficient evidence that reductions in climate exposure and vulnerability are happening at the rates required to manage risks appropriately – for around one-quarter of outcomes, available indicators show insufficient evidence of progress.
Baroness Brown, chair of the Adaptation Committee, commented: “The government’s lack of urgency on climate resilience is in sharp contrast to the recent experience of people in this country. People, nature and infrastructure face damaging impacts as climate change takes hold. These impacts will only intensify in the coming decades.
“This has been a lost decade in preparing for and adapting to the known risks that we face from climate change. Each month that passes without action locks in more damaging impacts and threatens the delivery of other key government objectives, including net zero. We have laid out a clear path for government to improve the country’s climate resilience. They must step up.”
In 2022, the CCC says the government’s Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA3) identified 61 separate risks and opportunities for the UK from the changing climate – spanning the natural environment, infrastructure, the economy, and society. The Committee’s report assesses progress in preparing for these risks.
This has been a lost decade in preparing for and adapting to the known risks that we face from climate change.
The Committee says the current National Adaptation Programme fails to match the scale of the challenge now facing the country. It continues that the Programme lacks a clear vision and is not “underpinned by tangible outcomes or targets”.
Wider policy priorities, including Net Zero and nature recovery, will fail if adaptation to climate change is not incorporated from the start, the CCC also states.
The Committee claims that a well-resourced climate change adaptation monitoring and evaluation programme is now an urgent priority.
