The Climate Change Committee (CCC) have today released a report giving insight into the UK’s climate adaptation preparations
In the wake of the seventh carbon budget, the CCC climate action report warns that preparations for climate change need urgent progress.
It calls planning for adaptation “piecemeal and disjointed”.
Ratings have hardly changed in two years
The CCC climate action report begins with details of the rapidity of climate change effects in the UK, marking the period between October 2022 – March 2024 as the wettest 18-months in English history, with farmlands flooded, damaging harvests to unprecedented levels.
Before this, the Summer of 2022 saw record-breaking heatwaves, and temperatures reach or exceed 40 degrees Celsius for the first time in several places. Nearly 3,000 heat-related deaths were recorded in England, and there was a 500% increase in 999 calls related to wildfires.
It warns that nature, buildings, and infrastructure will all require immediate work to remedy flood and overheating risk. Extreme weather events will become more frequent as more than a third of railway kilometres of road are now at flood risk, and this is expected to rise by half by 2050. Heat is expected to cause damage to infrastructure through rail buckling and power line sagging, as well as risk of drought.
Through the CCC’s assessment, they found that most categories (including transports, towns and cities, health, etc.) have the same low scores as 2023, and no outcome could be listed as ‘good’.
UKGBC comment on the CCC climate action report
Simon McWhirter, deputy chief executive officer at the UK Green Building Council, said: “This report is a stark reminder we are failing to respond to the devastating impacts of a changing climate, a choice that will cost lives and livelihoods.
“The CCC had previously likened our climate adaptation efforts to Cinderella, warning adaptation is under-resourced, underfunded and often ignored. This new report shows little has changed.
“We welcome the CCC’s clear calls for urgent, coordinated action across government, and its emphasis on the built environment and community resilience, key themes addressed in the UK Climate Resilience Roadmap, which we are launching in June.
“As the risks from flooding, overheating, and extreme weather escalate, the need for long-term funding, better data, and a joined-up national strategy is critical. To truly meet the scale of the challenge, we must move beyond siloed approaches with systemic, cross-sector action, that tackles the full range of climate risks and addresses the underlying vulnerabilities of our buildings and, as a result, communities.
“UKGBC stands ready to work with industry, government and civil society to deliver a climate-resilient future that protects people, nature and the economy.”
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