A speech by Sir James Bevan argues that reaching net zero “not enough” to save our planet, and that net zero and adaptation should be be seen as “two sides of the same coin”.

The speech concludes: “The most exciting opportunity of all is the opportunity to create a better world: to build back better when flooding or drought damages homes and businesses; to create cleaner, greener cities which are more beautiful and better to live in than the ones we have now; to ensure that when it rains heavily our roads and railways don’t grind to a halt and our sewage systems don’t flush directly into rivers; to enhance nature at the same time as we lock up more carbon; and so on”…

“Net zero is about making things less bad than they would have been…Adaptation is about making things better than they are.”