Government is calling on businesses, local councils, and communities to prepare for the effects of extreme weather and climate change now, to guard against any future economic impacts.

According to Defra, 64 per cent of UK businesses have suffered supply chain disruption due to extreme weather, and 70 per cent of major businesses and their suppliers see significant risk from climate change. However, only 40 per cent of large businesses in the UK are said to be ‘taking action’ to ensure they are ready to deal with its impacts.

To help encourage society to make ‘timely, far-sighted and well-informed decisions to address the threats and opportunities posed by a changing climate’, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has today (1 July) released the UK’s first National Adaptation Programme (NAP), detailing future government actions and policies.

Defra warns that ‘extreme events’, such as the flooding and droughts of 2012, are likely to become ‘more frequent and more severe in the coming decades, bringing potential disruption to the economy’.

However, it adds that with adequate preparation, climate change could also bring ‘opportunities’ to business, as the adaptation sector is already valued at around £65.8 billion.

Writing in the foreword to the programme, Environment Secretary Owen Paterson said: ‘As the world’s climate changes, Britain’s expertise in areas such as weather forecasting, flood modelling, infrastructure and insurance are already coming to the fore to prepare us for the kinds of events we might see more often. Indeed, the UK is already one of the global leaders in this industry of the future and this market is expected to grow by five per cent or more year on year, supporting skilled jobs and the weather-resilience that saves money in the long term.

‘This report shows what the government is doing to support this. In many cases, some simple planning now comes at little additional cost to existing investments… These preparations, based on the best evidence and a spirit of partnership, will help avoid costs and damage and so support the growth of a stronger and more balanced economy.’

Programme details

Building on the Climate Change Risk Assessment (which analysed 100 potential impacts of climate change – to be reviewed every five years), the report sets out the main priorities that require ‘urgent adaption’ in five key themes:

• agriculture and forestry;
• buildings and infrastructure;
• business;
• healthy and resilient communities; and
• natural environment

The programme lists a variety of measures businesses can take to prepare for the effects of climate change, including ‘low-regret actions’ (actions that deliver economic benefits now and are feasible under virtually any future climate scenario) such as water-efficiency measures or checking insurance policies.

Actions that the government itself will be taking to help adaption include:

Agriculture and forestry

• reforming the ‘abstraction regulation system’ to protect future water supplies and encourage more efficient and effective water use (Defra will consult on reform proposals in ‘late 2013’ and look to introduce legislation ‘early’ in the next Parliament);
• implementing ‘payment for ecosystem services’ approaches, which reward farmers for delivering important services, including adaptation measures that benefit wider society.

Buildings and infrastructure

• spending £2.3 billion on flood and coastal erosion risk management over the four years to March 2015;
• ensuring the ‘continued availability and affordability’ of flood insurance to high risk households’ through the Water Bill;
• implementing the National Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM) Strategy for England to promote ‘long-term planning, avoidance of inappropriate development in high risk areas, improved flood management infrastructure, increased public awareness and improved flood detection/warning’; and
• developing a project to ‘properly articulate the economic case for encouraging developers and construction companies to build climate resilient buildings’.

Business

• ‘scoping’ a project on global food modelling and research to compare existing models aimed at integrating environmental impacts (including climate change) with global agricultural production and international food security;
• developing the Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme for England covering 2014 to 2020 to set out how EU funds will be used to drive growth across the country;
• developing an adaptation policy statement and guidance to Local Enterprise Partnerships ‘to ensure that adaptation is embedded in the development and implementation of local strategies’; and
• taking forward a second phase of infrastructure design competition to seek ‘innovative products to support infrastructure resilience’.

Healthy and Resilient Communities

• developing and testing a health adaptation tool as part of the Environment Agency’s Climate Ready support service;
• supporting the NHS to ‘plan and maintain healthcare facilities that are resilient to flooding and extreme temperatures’;
• implementing annual Heatwave and Cold Weather Plans for England ‘to ensure they reach beyond the immediate health sector and help safeguard the most vulnerable people’; and
• researching further potential risks of increased UV exposure.

Natural Environment

• embedding actions to increase climate resilience into the Rural Development Programme for England 2014-2020;
• seeing more ‘integrated approaches’ to terrestrial biodiversity and ecosystems management through Nature Improvement Areas (NIAs) and Local Nature Partnerships (LNPs) in the hopes of ‘increasing the likelihood that more species will be able to survive changes in climate’;
• designating ‘at least’ 25 per cent of English waters as Marine Protected Areas ‘to create a series of conservation zones; and
• delivering sustainable use of fish stocks, through the reformed Common Fisheries Policy.

Speaking after the launch of the report, Resources MinisterLord de Mauley said: “Businesses, government and local communities must ensure they are equipped to deal with the challenges ahead and embrace the opportunities that arise, both at home and overseas.”

Economists have estimated that every £1 spent on adaptation could represent four times its value in potential damages avoided. Government says that preparing for the impacts of climate change and taking advantage of changing conditions mean ‘businesses can remain resilient and competitive in the future’.

The report has been welcomed by several members of industry, including Andrew Brown, Head of Sustainability at Anglian Water, who said: “This report is a welcome call to action for everyone in the UK to think about how they can prepare and make sure that we can continue to grow and thrive, whatever the future holds.”

Scope of NAP reach

The NAP primarily covers England, but also covers non-devolved matters.

A Scottish Adaptation Programme will be published by the Scottish Government in 2013 ‘after a period of consultation’ and will replace the existing Adaptation Framework, which aims to support climate change adaptation.

The Welsh Government is developing Sectoral Adaptation Plans across five ‘important sectors’, which will form part of the next Annual Progress Report (due to be published in Autumn 2013).

A cross-departmental Northern Ireland Adaptation Programme is due to be published ‘later’ in 2013.

Read the National Adaptation Programme.