Damning assessment from the Climate Change Committee

The UK’s first 40OC day, in summer 2022, was the clearest indication that climate change has arrived in this country. Last year’s record breaking temperatures brought unprecedented heat-related deaths, wildfire incidents and significant infrastructure disruption. The impacts of climate change will intensify over coming decades, leaving the UK vulnerable without better resilience planning and preparation.

In this report on England’s adaptation progress, the Climate Change Committee publishes a new appraisal of the outcomes needed to build climate resilience across the economy – and the extent of policies and delivery to meet them.

There is a striking lack of climate preparation from Government:

Policies and plans. 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.

Delivery and implementation. In none of the 45 adaptation outcomes was their 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.

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Also covered in the Guardian