Urgent action needed to adapt to climate change

Professor Lord John Krebs has said that while there was “no question” that the first response to climate change should be to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it is still “crucial to prepare for the inevitable changes” that will occur as a result of emissions that have already been made.

This comes hot on the heels of the Climate Change Risk Assessment Report by the Committee of Climate Change (CCC), of which Krebs is the Chair. The report has advised the government that urgent action should be taken to protect Britain against flooding and coastal change, water shortages, soil damage, heat related deaths, food shortages and changes to natural capital.

It outlines 60 risks and opportunities and highlights the inter-linking nature of some of the risk to infrastructure such as bridge damage, power supply, communications systems and describes a “cascade of risks”.

The Government’s climate change adaptation strategy is due in 2018 and the Climate Change Risk Assessment Report will inform its development.

IEMA are running a webinar about the report on the 28th July, for which you can register here.

There is a fact sheet with the key messages of the report that can be accessed here and you can read the full report here.

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