The U.K. Government’s Third National Adaptation Programme (NAP3) has been criticized for its inability to adequately address climate change challenges. Despite some improvements over previous versions, the government’s climate change watchdog—the Climate Change Committee (CCC)—argues it lacks a clear vision for adapting to climate change, leaving the the U.K. vulnerable to its impacts.
Published in July last year, NAP3 sets out plans to ensure the country is prepared for the effects of climate change through to 2028, when it will be replaced by the U.K.’s fourth five-year plan for adapting to escalating climate risks.
Baroness Brown, Chair of the Adaptation Committee, said: “The evidence of the damage from climate change has never been clearer, but the U.K.’s current approach to adaptation is not working.”
She added: “We cannot wait another five years for only incremental improvement.”
The committee’s report, issued Wednesday, March 13, warns the U.K. government’s plans fall far short of what is required to protect the economy from worsening climate impacts.
The CCC wanrs that NAP3 fails to provide a credible vision for how the U.K. economy can be made resilient in the face of the the climate risks already impacting people and businesses.
Further, it argues the NAP3’s status across government departments remains low, that a failure to deliver effective adaptation measures over the course of the current five-year programme increases the risk of locking-in poorly adapted infrastructure that will not be resilient to future impacts, and warns that in the region of $64 billion in additional investment is needed each year by 2030 to put the U.K. on the right course to meet its net zero goals.
CCC stresses that the new NAP is still not sufficiently well-understood or resourced, particularly in local government.
It warns that under NAP3 fewer than half of the short-term actions to address urgent risks identified in the last Climate Change Risk Assessment are being progressed.
The CCC’s warnings follow the warmest and the fourth wettest February on record, according to Met Office figures.
The government is also rolling back measures that could help communities better adapt to climate change, such as Low Traffic Neighborhoods.
Watering down climate policies is seen by many in the governing Conservative Party as a way to curry favor in the forthcoming election, likely to be held later this year, with the government now “on the side of motorists.”
A government spokesperson said: “The government’s third National Adaptation Programme sets out a robust five-year plan to strengthen infrastructure, promote a greener economy, and safeguard food production in the face of the climate challenges we face.
“We are investing billions in projects to improve the U.K.’s climate resilience. Our negotiators played an important role at the COP28 summit to help bring an ambitious Global Goal on Adaptation to life and as a leading nation on climate adaptation, the U.K. is well placed to achieve these ambitions in full.”
