Smoke rises from the fires that broke out in Dartford, England on July 19, 2022 during a severe heatwave
William Edwards/AFP via Getty Images
Water and food shortages, power outages, communication failures, floods, heat deaths, some of the dangers facing Britain that are ill-adapted to a warming world are serious problems facing the UK. . National adaptation programs over the last decade.
The Climate Change Commission (CCC), the official body that advises the UK government on emissions reduction and adaptation, has developed a series of measures needed to achieve climate resilience in 13 sectors including nature, health and energy. identified a goal. The report found that 40 of the 45 goals do not have credible plans, and that none of the existing plans are doing enough to implement them.
“The last decade was the lost decade,” says Julia King, chair of the CCC Subcommittee on Adaptation. “The impact will only get worse.”
Average annual temperatures in the UK are already more than 1.5°C warmer than in the 1880s and will continue to rise for at least several decades. Sea levels have risen 15 cm during this time and will continue to rise for many centuries to come. “Every time the temperature rises, the danger increases,” says King.
Much of Britain’s infrastructure and way of doing things is no longer suitable for the changing climate. This includes everything from homes that aren’t designed to handle heatwaves, to crops that farmers grow, power systems, and flood protection.
According to King, 2022’s record-breaking heat presents several problems. More than 3,000 people died from heatstroke during the summer, 20% of services were canceled during peak heat waves, rail services were disrupted by buckling of rails and sagging power lines, and drought caused water restrictions. and reduced food production. Firefighters struggled to contain the widespread wildfire.
“Last year’s events highlight just how exposed and vulnerable we can be to extreme weather in the UK,” said Richard Millar, CCC’s Adaptation Officer. “Reducing greenhouse gases is not enough. We must also adapt.”
Water is one of the few areas where there is adequate planning to secure future supplies, he says. However, per capita water consumption has increased in recent years and little has been done to reduce leakage.
Additionally, government adaptation programs need not only address specific areas such as water, but also consider increasing infrastructure interconnections, which could lead to a chain reaction, Millar said. increase.
For example, power outages due to extreme weather can lead to loss of water supplies and communication systems. The UK narrowly avoided a blackout last summer.
Climate-related events elsewhere in the world can also affect the UK. Due to the recent abnormal weather in Morocco and Spain, there is a shortage of some vegetables. “Identifying and managing these interdependencies is an important part of being climate resilient,” he says.
Some adaptation measures will come at a cost, such as upgrading the flood defenses that protect London. But CCC head Chris Stark says it will be cheaper to do it now than “if we do it in a more panicky way towards the middle of the century.”
“Climate change is fundamental,” he says. Everything governments, businesses and individuals do is happening in the midst of global warming, but this is not yet taken into account, he says.
The next five-year phase of the UK National Adaptation Program will be announced later this year. It must be much more ambitious and focus on implementation, with adaptation embedded in all policies, the report said.
A UK government spokesperson said: “We welcome the progress made so far by the Climate Change Commission and will incorporate its recommendations into our updated national adaptation programmes.”
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