The National Infrastructure Commission and Climate Change Committee have written jointly to government urging ministers to take steps to improve the resilience of key infrastructure services to the effects of climate change.

Building on recent reports by both organisations, the advisory bodies set out five steps to accelerate national adaptation planning to protect key networks:

• Setting clear and measurable goals for resilience, and action plans to deliver them
• Ensuring these standards are developed in time to inform forthcoming regulatory price control periods (which set investment levels for operators)
• Giving explicit duties for resilience to all infrastructure regulators
• Cabinet-level oversight of interdependencies and whole-system resilience
• Embedding resilience in infrastructure planning as we move to an economy more reliant on electricity

The letter was sent to Oliver Dowden MP, Deputy Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Thérèse Coffey MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs yesterday (26 April).

Half of UK businesses already impacted by climate change
Nearly half (48%) of all UK businesses are already impacted by the physical effects of climate change, new research by global risk management and insurance broker Gallagher has revealed.
The survey found

• Disruption caused by extreme weather events, including flooding and heatwaves, is having a major impact on British businesses.
• Three in four business leaders report being concerned about impact of climate change over the next decade, yet only a third have taken steps to mitigate the risk.
• Only a third of businesses have reviewed insurance cover to ensure they are protected from impacts of global warming.
• More than half say it is Government’s responsibility to ensure businesses are prepared to meet climate change challenge; just 16% think the onus lies with businesses.