Climate Change Committee condemns statutory climate adaptation plan as inadequate

The Climate Change Committee (CCC) last week said “evidence of the UK’s inadequate response to worsening climate impacts continues to mount” as it published its assessment of the government’s third National Adaptation Programme (NAP3).

According to the committee, NAP3 – the statutory plan to ensure the country is prepared for the effects of climate change – “falls far short of what is required”. In particular, the CCC listed three "critical issues" that need to be resolved in governance, investment and monitoring.

Governance 

"Over three iterations of the NAP, Defra has failed to make adaptation a top priority within the department or in other central government departments, despite the growing evidence of climate impacts. It is still not sufficiently well-understood or resourced, particularly in local government. The present approach of coordination by Defra is not working. Effective cross-government collaboration is needed to ensure all departments are engaged with adaptation and recognise the challenges that climate impacts can have across multiple sectors at any one time."

Investment

"Adaptation in the UK is insufficiently funded to manage the scale of the climate impacts we will experience. NAP3 does not tackle effectively the barriers to investment, such as low perceived urgency of adaptation, lack of clear targets and the limited understanding of adaptation actions. There also remains a limited understanding on the role of spending on adaptation from the private and public sector."

Monitoring

"The CCC cannot fully assess progress without better monitoring and evaluation. A system of comprehensive indicators and data collection is vital and – as seen in other countries – it improves the response to climate impacts."

Chair of the CCC’s Adaptation Committee, Baroness Brown, said: “The evidence of the damage from climate change has never been clearer, but the UK’s current approach to adaptation is not working. Defra needs to deliver an immediate strengthening of the Government’s programme, with an overhaul of its integration with other Government priorities such as Net Zero and nature restoration. We cannot wait another five years for only incremental improvement.”

PR24 was among the upcoming opportunities cited by the CCC to accommodate effective resilience standards to manage future climate risks.