Memorandum submitted by the Environment
Agency
SUMMARY
The challenges of climate change are tough and
immediate. The UK is experiencing more unpredictable weather.
More frequent deluges of rain threaten serious flooding, and in
the south and east of England, water will become ever scarcer.
To help meet these challenges, we believe adaptation must play
a bigger role in public policy over the coming years.
Our main points are as follows:
— The profile of adaptation policy has
progressed significantly over the last two years, due largely
to the statutory provisions in the Climate Change Act and the
work of the Government's Adapting to Climate Change (ACC) Programme.
— However, adaptation policy across Government
remains at the early stages of development.
— Responsibility for assessing and managing
climate risks must rest with each Government Department, not the
ACC Programme secretariat.
— We support the commitment by all Departments
in the ACC Programme to produce adaptation plans by spring 2010.
— We support the Adaptation Reporting Power.
We will be one of the first Authorities to report and we hope
that our report can act as an exemplar to others.
— We note the need for some organisations,
in particular local authorities and Reporting Authorities, to
receive additional guidance and training on adaptation.
— The guidance relating to the proposed
new Regional Strategies should clearly set out requirements relating
to climate change adaptation.
— The role of the Adaptation Sub-Committee
is vital to maintaining the required focus on adaptation.
— The most effective way of embedding adaptation
is to integrate it into existing risk management frameworks and
business planning.
1. The adapting to climate change programme
1.1 The profile of adaptation policy across
Government remains at the early stages of development. However,
it has progressed significantly over the last two years, due largely
to the statutory provisions in the Climate Change Act and the
work of the Government's Adapting to Climate Change (ACC) Programme.
1.2 We welcome Defra's commitment and enthusiasm
to drive adaptation across other Government Departments (OGDs).
However, ultimate responsibility for assessing and managing climate
risks must rest with each Government Department, not the ACC Programme
secretariat. Each Department must take responsibility for its
own climate risks and deliver policy, programmes and projects
which are adapted to future climates.
1.3 Government Departmental Adaptation Plans
will be a key stepping stone in this process. The timetable for
producing these is ambitious (March 2010) and Government Departments
will need to ensure that the process is properly resourced.
2. Government Departments, processes and structures
2.1 How Government Departments respond to the
challenge of adaptation will be key to the country's success in
adapting to climate change. They are required to do this by Public
Service Agreement (PSA) 27 which states, "UK will develop
a robust approach to domestic adaptation to climate change, shared
across government."
2.2 The recent NAO report indicates that some
progress has been made, although the stage different Departments
have reached varies greatly.
2.3 All Departments in the ACC Programme have
committed to producing adaptation plans by spring 2010. Scrutiny
of these plans is essential and will help establish what progress
is being made. We would recommend that Departments are requested,
either by the NAO or the ACC Secretariat, to complete the self-assessment
tool on a periodic basis.
2.4 Perhaps most importantly, the Climate Change
Act introduces a continuous five-year cycle during which the Government
must report on the UK's climate risks and develop an Adaptation
Programme to address those risks. This statutory framework and
policy cycle will require significant investment and resources.
Government Departments will need to provide resources for this
in terms of work on evidence, risk assessment and policy development.
3. The overall direction for work on adaptation
3.1 We believe that the Climate Change Act,
the ACC Programme, the Adaptation Sub-Committee, the UKCIP and
the forthcoming departmental action plans provide a good foundation
for future work on adaptation.
3.2 The Adaptation Reporting Power will encourage
public bodies and statutory undertakers properly to address climate
change. We welcome the approach set out in the recent consultation
document to ask a wide range of bodies to report.
3.3 However, many reporting authorities are
only beginning to learn about their risks from climate change.
If the reports are to achieve their potential, authorities must
be given assistance as they develop their reports. A process should
be established to facilitate the development of good practice
and encourage cross-organisational learning.
3.4 For the Government and others to get full
value from the reports, they must be properly assessed and compared.
Sufficient resources will need to be allocated to a comprehensive
review process. We also recommend that all reports are summarised
in a single synthesis document. This document would enable stakeholders
to gauge progress on climate change adaptation, in the UK and
in each sector, and identify synergies and conflicts across reporting
authorities.
4. Protecting key infrastructure and systems
4.1 We believe there are probably large differences
in the degree of preparedness of the many organisations responsible
for key infrastructure and systems. The Adaptation Reporting Power
will provide clarity on this and will encourage organisations
to identify and address climate change risks to their business.
4.2 Water industry
4.2.1Defra's Statutory Social and Environmental
Guidance to Ofwat states that water and sewage companies should
consider the "risks and impacts of floods on water and sewerage
infrastructure and the greater incidence of more extreme weather
conditions that climate change is likely to bring". In response
to this, as part of the 2009 Price Review (PR09), water companies
have considered their resilience to extreme weather and flooding
alongside other risks in their business plans. Progress on this
will depend on the final outcome of PR09. The Environment Agency
is generally content with the steps the water industry has made
in this area, and we feel other sectors could learn from their
approach.
4.3 Critical infrastructure
4.3.1 The Pitt Review into the summer floods
of 2007 highlighted a number of issues which Government and the
Environment Agency should address to help critical infrastructure
become more resilient to flooding, both now and in the future.
The first recommendation was to increase the priority given to
adaptation across Government.
4.3.2 In June 2009, Government published a progress
report on delivering the Pitt Review recommendations and the Environment
Agency has been working closely with Defra, the Met Office, Local
Authorities, Local Resilience Forums and owners of critical infrastructure
to make good progress on these. We have provided information on
flood risk to Local Resilience Forums on which they can base their
actions.
5. Funding, support and training
5.1 Training
5.1.1 To assess their risks from climate change
many organisations will need a good understanding of UKCP09 scenarios
and outputs and how to use them.
5.1.2 UKCIP's Projections in Practice are an
excellent, free training resource to help build capacity across
the country.
5.1.3 However, many organisations will need
further guidance on how to assess their risks and how to use UKCP09.
We believe UKCIP has a vital role to play although their reach
is constrained by resources. The ACC Programme should establish
how such assistance can be provided, particularly to local authorities
and bodies subject to the reporting power.
5.2 Flood risk
5.2.1 Our Long Term Investment Strategy used
UKCP09 data to assess future flood risk in a changing climate.
It found that if the current level of spending is maintained,
by 2035 the number of properties at significant risk could increase
by 330,000. To maintain current levels of protection from river
and sea flooding spending in real terms on flood defences will
need to increase from £570 million in 2010-11 to around £1
billion in 2035. In addition the risks of surface water flooding
will increase and require extra investment in solutions such as
sustainable drainage systems.
5.2.2 Most of the benefits of flood risk management
measures accrue to the private sector. The Pitt Report into the
2007 floods called for new funding approaches so that the direct
beneficiaries of flood defences supplement central Government
funding. We back this call for new sources of funding.
5.3 Regional and local
5.3.1 The Local Democracy, Economic Development
and Construction (LDEDC) Bill proposes the introduction of integrated
Regional Strategies which will combine spatial, economic, social
and environmental strategies into a single long-term vision. It
is vital that the guidance for developing Regional Strategies
clearly sets out requirements relating to climate change adaptation.
5.3.2 The Regional Climate Change Partnerships
(RCCP) play an important role in helping regions and communities
adapt to climate change.
5.3.3 Upper-tier local authorities now have
a duty to report on their progress on climate change adaptation
under National Indicator 188 (NI188) of the new local performance
framework. We see the introduction of NI188 as a positive development
which will drive adaptation work at the local level.
5.3.4 Evidence from our Area offices suggests
that local authorities often lack the resources and expertise
to deliver fully their adaptation objectives.
5.3.5 We note that the EAC made a number of
recommendations relating to regional, local and devolved Government
in its previous inquiry into climate change (July 2008). Many
of these recommendations and observations remain valid to this
inquiry.
6. The monitoring and evaluation of work on adaptation
6.1 We see the role of the Adaptation Sub-Committee
as vital to maintaining the required focus on adaptation.
6.2 We welcome the EACs continued scrutiny in
this area. However, we recommend that the Departmental Select
Committees also scrutinise their Departments on adaptation.
6.3 We agree with the NAO report that measuring
progress on adaptation is difficult, especially in terms of quantitative
targets. However, we believe individual departments and organisations
should set their own measurable adaptation targets where possible.
6.4 In other cases, Government may have to continue
to rely on qualitative targets. The process targets used for NI188
are a good example of these. In time, when we know more and the
adaptation agenda is further advanced, some of the actions should
be developed into outcome targets.
7. Communication on adaptation
7.1 General awareness of the possible impacts
of climate change has increased in recent years. This has been
in part due to extreme weather events, including the summer 2007
floods.
7.2 Communicating what climate change will
mean for individuals and communities has always been challenging.
7.3 We have focused our communications on
helping organisations and communities prepare for the impacts
of climate change such as flooding and water shortages. For example,
our Floodwise campaign aims to ensure that people at risk receive
appropriate flood warnings and take action to protect themselves
and their property.
8. Embedding adaptation into existing frameworks
8.1 For successful adaptation to occur it must
be embedded into existing policies, including sustainable development
frameworks. Preparing for climate change should now be seen as
a key element of sustainable development. This has in general
been acknowledged by frameworks on sustainable development.
8.2 However, the most effective way of embedding
adaptation is to integrate it into existing risk management frameworks
and business planning. Adaptation should not be considered an
"environmental or "sustainable development issue. Adaptation
is essentially risk management and is the responsibility of corporate
decision-makers and planners.
12 October 2009
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