How is the UK addressing a ‘lost decade’ of climate action?

At the end of last month, Hurricane Melissa, one of the strongest storms to hit the Atlantic, caused devastation in the Caribbean.

As we watched scenes of people’s homes and livelihoods being destroyed, it brought the effects of climate change into sharp focus.

Here in the UK, the independent Climate Change Committee (CCC) believes the government isn’t doing enough to prepare for this increasingly extreme weather.

It had already warned the UK of a “lost decade” of climate action.

In its new report, published earlier this year, the CCC pointed to an urgent need to refresh the UK's approach to adaptation and resilience.

The government has now responded to the committee’s concerns. Here are the key takeaways.

The government intends to deliver on planned adaptation measures

The UK is legally required to make changes to respond to climate change.

National adaptation programmes (NAP) set out the specific steps the government will take.

The CCC criticised NAP3, which covers the period from 2023-2028, for its lack of urgency, observing that it only brought together existing initiatives.

New commitments to support the large-scale delivery of adaptation measures were noticeably missing.

It was expected that the government would strengthen NAP3 in its response to the CCC report.

Instead, it looks like the focus has shifted to preparing for NAP4 and delivering on the actions included in the existing plan with minimal changes.

Despite its limitations, if delivery on the commitments in NAP3 falls short, it risks another half a decade of ineffective adaptation.

This would be hugely damaging to the UK’s infrastructure and the people and businesses that use it. 

There has been progress in some sectors

The Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), the regulator (Ofgem) and the National Energy System Operator (NESO) are working together on climate resilience.

They want to better understand climate change and its impacts on the energy system.

This includes work on resilience standards and a programme with the Met Office to translate climate science into useable insights for policymakers.

NESO is also planning to assess the energy system’s resilience to a range of climate scenarios and hazards – as recommended by the CCC.

In telecommunications, a new bill, expected to be introduced to Parliament soon, could provide the regulator, Ofcom, with more power to enforce improved resilience of data infrastructure.

The upcoming Warm Homes Plan is also expected to support the government in upgrading 5 million homes and transforming the UK’s ageing buildings into comfortable, low-carbon and resilient spaces.

These commitments come alongside £10.5 billion in funding for flood and coastal erosion defences by 2035-2036.

The 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy has an important role to play

The government’s 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy sets out a plan to review existing resilience standards across critical national infrastructure sectors by the end of 2026. This was recommended by the CCC.

These standards will then be updated, or new ones created where needed.

The strategy also outlines how to embed these standards in the setting and delivery of stronger adaptation objectives in the next NAP – expected in 2028.

What else needs to be done?

Better collaboration

The CCC strongly recommends improving cross-government collaboration, something the ICE has highlighted before as well.

In response, the government points to its review of the Climate Resilience Steering Board, which was set up as part of NAP3 to get government departments working together.

The government wants to strengthen the board, which is positive, but there’s little evidence of improved coordination to date. Resilience planning and funding is still siloed.

Preparing for extreme heat

While the government clearly recognises climate risks from flooding and other threats, it appears to underestimate the impact of extreme heat.

The human cost of hotter temperatures is very real.

Alongside buckled rails on train lines, and sagging power lines, a fifth of hospitals cancelled elective surgeries as a result of a heatwave in 2022.

Drought and fires are also heat risks with economic and life-threatening consequences.

The CCC recommended creating a long-term, cross-sector plan to manage future heat risk.

Now is the time for urgent progress on climate resilience

As the political consensus on climate change begins to splinter, it couldn’t be more important that governments around the world take decarbonisation and adaptation seriously.

This response illustrates where progress has been made, but lays bare the fact that much more urgent action is needed.