The U.K. needs to overhaul key infrastructure including power stations, roads, railways, and water supplies in order to mitigate the worst effects of climate change, said an independent body that advises the U.K. government on climate change.
The U.K. needs to overhaul key infrastructure including power stations,
roads, railways, and water supplies in order to mitigate the worst effects of
climate change, said an independent body that advises the U.K. government on
climate change.
The Adaptation Sub-Committee said Thursday that climate change is already
having an impact in the
U.K.
and
action must be taken now to avoid future damage.
In its first national assessment of how well prepared the
U.K.
is
for climate change, the committee found that "some progress has been
made" to raise awareness about climate change adaptation but "very
little tangible action" has taken place on the ground.
The committee found that infrastructure such as power stations, roads, water
treatment works and flood barriers need to be designed with climate change in
mind in order to ensure that they can cope with rising temperatures and are
more resilient to storms floods, droughts and changing patterns of consumer
demand.
Buildings also need to be designed and renovated with rising temperatures and
floods or droughts in mind. For instance, new homes shouldn't be built on flood-plains
and green spaces in cities should be better used to help manage surface water
drainage, the committee said.
"The
U.K.
must
start acting now to prepare for climate change," said John Krebs, Chair of
the Adaptation Sub-Committee on Climate Change. "If we wait, it will be
too late. It is not necessarily about spending more, but about spending smart
and investing to save."
The committee said climate change is already having an impact in the
U.K.
Since
the 1970s, average annual temperatures have risen by 1 degree Celsius, and
spring arrives 11 days earlier.
Caroline Spelman,
U.K.
Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said the
U.K.
needs
to accept that some climate change is inevitable and already happening. She
noted that Defra is already working with businesses and communities to prepare
for challenges that lie ahead.
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