Introduction

· Climate change is the greatest threat facing the planet, and is already affecting wildlife[1]. Moreover, climate change is compounding existing threats to wildlife such as habitat destruction, pollution and non-native invasive species.

· There is evidence to suggest that the rate and destination of further climate change during this century could be without precedent during the evolutionary history of most species on the planet[2], and that further impacts on wildlife will be enormous.

· As champions of the natural environment, and biodiversity in particular, the RSPB believe it is essential that through adaptation planning and action:

Ų The role a healthy natural environment will play in supporting the adaptation of society and the economy through the provision of vital ecosystem services is recognised.

Ų The natural environment is recognised as a sector in its own right that will not adequately adapt autonomously.

Ų All sectors ensure their adaptation does not restrict the ability of the natural environment to adapt, and where possible, seek to support its adaptation.

Ų Ecosystem-based adaptation solutions are considered as a priority adaptation response by all sectors.

· To support wildlife's adaptation to climate change, it is widely accepted that we must both build resilience (e.g. by removing non-climate impacts and managing our existing wildlife sites and protected areas), and accommodate change (e.g. by creating new habitat and supporting wildlife-friendly management of the wider countryside).

Response to issues highlighted by the Committee

1. The RSPB fully supports the Adaptation to Climate Change Programme, and believe it is working well to embed adaptation and climate change risk assessment into the work of Government departments.

2. Based on the report by the National Audit Office, we believe that Government departments have done a good job of identifying which strategic objectives are likely to be significantly affected by the impacts of climate change. We particularly welcome the recognition of the vulnerability of the natural environment to the impacts of climate change, and the desire to address this, in so many Departmental Assessments. We look forward to seeing more detail on how this can be achieved in the Departmental Adaptation Plans when they are published in spring 2010.

3. The Departmental self-assessments show that good progress is being made toward the vital first step of building awareness of climate impacts and the need for adaptation. Once different departments have produced their adaptation plans, it will be important that the Adapting to Climate Change team at Defra, in their role as a cross-government facilitator, start to consider where different departments should converge their adaptation planning, and look for co-benefit adaptation solutions that are cost and resource- efficient.

4. The RSPB recently responded to Defra's consultation on the Adaptation Reporting Power. We broadly welcomed the proposed strategy for using the Reporting Power, though we believe the Adaptation Sub-Committee need to play an earlier role in scrutinising the reports, that the natural environment needed greater prioritisation, and that there needs to be greater emphasis on the value of Reporting Authorities working to integrate their adaptation planning where appropriate. We felt the draft Statutory Guidance did not adequately establish the need for all sectors to contribute to the adaptation of the natural environment.

5. Action to conserve current biodiversity, and remove non-climate pressures on the natural environment, is urgently needed. This is widely recognised as a vital short-term priority for enabling the natural environment's adaptation to climate change¹. Following the recognition by so many departments that the natural environment is a key objective likely to be significantly affected by climate change, we look forward to seeing how these short-term priorities will be actioned and funded through departmental adaptation plans. Investment in the natural environment is fundamental to society's adaptation - and immediate action is vital as tomorrow's biodiversity can only come from today's.

6. Capacity to adapt to climate change is rapidly increasing across government, but it has a long way to go. The challenge is to embed adaptation into everyday decision-making whilst ensuring it remains a high profile responsibility. We suspect that some of the greatest capacity challenges lie at a local government level - particularly when this relates to Local Authorities' responsibilities for cross-sectoral adaptation (e.g. reducing flood risk and benefiting biodiversity through land management).

7. The private and third sectors lie outside of the scope of the UK Climate Change Act.
Yet these sectors provide vital goods and services that we must ensure are robust to the challenge of climate change. With over 75% of land in the UK being used for agriculture, sustainable adaptation in the agricultural sector that contributes to wider society's adaptation is of the utmost importance. Defra and Natural England are already making valuable contributions to the evidence base for this, but there is much more work to do, not least in communicating to farmers, land managers and their advisors.

8. The Adapting to Climate Change team in Defra have done a good job of raising awareness across government and providing an evidence base to all their stakeholders (particularly through the roll-out of UK Climate Projections 09). As stated above, their cross-governmental role will be of particular value once Departmental adaptation plans are launched, and key areas for convergent planning can be identified. Communication with business is extremely important (as highlighted above), and this will be an important role for the Adaptation Sub-Committee.

9. The RSPB fully support the recognition that adaptation must contribute to the principles of sustainable development and we look forward to seeing this concept embedded in both the Statutory Guidance, and the National Adaptation Programme (as required by the UK Climate Change Act). Where sustainable development frameworks are successful in embedding the principles of sustainable development into decision-making across a government department or organisation, then this framework would seem to be a sensible vehicle for embedding adaptation. Where this is not the case, it will be important to improve the performance of existing sustainable development frameworks, perhaps using the urgency of climate change as a catalyst, alongside embedding adaptation.

10. The RSPB is working to ensure its conservation efforts support wildlife's adaptation to climate change. Bitterns, a priority species for conservation in the UK, are under particular threat from climate change, because so many of their stronghold sites are freshwater habitats at the coast. Coastal squeeze, exacerbated by climate change, is putting these sites under significant pressure. For many years we have been planning ahead to accommodate the likely future loss of these key sites with the support of many partners, including Natural England and the Environment Agency. By creating sufficient habitat inland, for example our Lakenheath reserve in Suffolk, ahead of the loss of the core coastal sites, we hope to secure the long-term future of bitterns in the UK.

5 October 2009

[1] Hopkins et al. (2007). Conserving biodiversity in a changing climate: guidance on building capacity to adapt. Published by Defra on behalf of the UK Biodiversity Partnership.

[2] Huntley, B. 2007. Climatic change and the conservation of European biodiversity: Towards the development of adaptation strategies. Discussion paper produced for the Standing Committee of the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats.