The Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) is undertaking an inquiry into the interaction of climate change and security issues and the UK Government’s approach to anticipating, preventing, and responding to the security threats posed by climate change.

Last week, the EAC heard evidence exploring the link between climate change and security in the first evidence session of its new inquiry.

The Climate Change Committee (CCC)’s adaptation panel and the National Infrastructure Commission have cautioned that the UK is “absolutely lacking” in climate adaptation measures, placing agriculture, supply chains, power systems and public health at security risks.

On the question of national preparedness to the impacts of climate change in the future, the CCC’s adaptation chair Baroness Brown stated that “we are not ready at all.”

She said: “As of yet, we don’t have a plan which could show what a well-adapted UK would look like and so we don’t know if we are going fast enough or in the right direction.”

Brown emphasised that in its latest set of recommendations to the Government, the CCC underscored the importance of addressing food security concerns in the Government’s adaptation strategy, encompassing both the quality of food and the vulnerability of agricultural production to climate impacts in the UK.

Additionally, she called for action to boost supply chain resilience, particularly considering the global impacts of climate change on regions where imported food is cultivated.

Read more and watch the session here.

Covered in The Guardian ‘UK is failing to put climate crisis at centre of national security measures, MPs told’