News | Energy Efficiency

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/sep/16/uk-climate-impacts

The UK's homes, power stations, roads and water supplies are at risk from flooding, drought and heat waves unless the government takes urgent action to "future-proof" the country, the national climate change watchdog warned today.

The first national assessment of the country's readiness for the impacts of global warming has found the UK was very poorly prepared for the changes, with fewer than one in 15 companies, local authorities and other public bodies taking action to tackle the issue, it says.
"It's the typical British disease that we're good at talking and planning, but less good at acting," said Lord John Krebs, the chairman of the report group. "All too often adaptation is name-checked in policies but it's not clear what that means on the ground."
The report, by the Climate Change Committee's adaptation sub-committee, also calls for speedy action by the government to introduce regulations and funding before it is too late. Recommendations include ensuring new buildings have better insulation and protection against heat waves and flooding, consideration of compulsory water metering to conserve water, "grey" water systems for homes to replace purified tap water with recycled water for gardens and toilets, and better emergency plans to protect vulnerable groups such as the elderly.
"If we wait it will be too late," said Krebs, "the consequence for the nation could be that very soon costs are imposed on households and businesses on the one hand, but on the other hand there are some real business opportunities here that the government could facilitate."
Some environment groups have expressed concern that Caroline Spelman, the environment secretary, will use the publication of the report today to make her first speech on climate change about adaptation, rather than the more politically contentious topic of cutting greenhouse emissions. Responsibility for the two is split, with the Department for Energy and Climate Change responsible for reducing emissions.
Peter Melchett, policy director of the Soil Association, said: "If Caroline Spelman makes her first speech about adaptation and nothing about mitigation it spells out significant danger for all of us."
Krebs said there was no reason that a major report on adaptation should detract from ministers' focus on also reducing emissions, and no sign so far that was happening. "This is not a shift in emphasis," he said. "They are twin tracks: we need mitigation and adaptation."
Spelman will also reject the criticism in her speech to the adaptation sub-committee in London today, saying: "While it is vital that we continue the task of drastically cutting our greenhouse gas emissions, we know that we are already facing levels of unavoidable climate change."
She adds: "Today's report provides a wake-up call. It recognizes that there is no part of our society which is immune from the effects of climate change. Which means that every part of our society must think about its resilience."
The committee's first report on adaption since it was formally set up a year ago under the previous Labor government said that climate change was "already having an impact on the UK", with average annual temperatures 1C higher than in the 1970s, and seasons arriving on average 11 days earlier.
Such warmer weather was "likely to increase", along with more frequent extreme weather such as storms, floods, heat waves and droughts, it said.
The report suggests five "priority areas" for action: land-use planning, such as not building homes on flood plains and better surface water drainage; infrastructure, such as building roads to cope with "typical Mediterranean" summers; buildings, including the construction of new homes and retrofitting old housing stock to be better insulated cool in hotter summers; natural resources, such as setting up "wildlife corridors" so species can migrate to more suitable habitats as conditions change and "making space for water" when there is flooding along coasts and rivers; and better emergency planning.
Some changes would mean spending money "smarter" rather than increased funding; others would require up-front spending for longer term savings, such as insulation, said Krebs. Government could also take action by introducing regulations to force higher standards, such as tougher building regulations and more water meters to encourage homeowners to be more careful with their water use, he said. Another potentially controversial suggestion was that industry regulators, such as the water and electricity sectors, should be given powers to make lower bills less of a top priority and more weight to other considerations such as adaptation, said Krebs.
A study cited by the committee by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs found that although between half and three-quarters of companies (depending on size) and all local authorities, were aware of the need to adapt, only 6% of the 633 organizations questioned had gone further than discussing or considering the problem and were "acting on priorities".