Adapting to climate change
Think tank: Institute for Government
Author(s): Rosa Hodgkin; Jill Rutter
March 14, 2024
This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government will look at how the UK can better manage a rapidly changing environment.
The impact of climate change is beginning to be felt in the UK. Despite this, successive governments have failed to prepare the UK to adapt to these changes. New housing developments are built in areas at future risk of flooding, while much of the UK’s housing stock is poorly prepared for hotter temperatures.
While climate change mitigation attracts far more attention – and investment – relatively little attention is paid to adaptation. The government’s National Adaptation Plan (NAP3) was a meaningful improvement on previous attempts, but lacked urgency and failed to provide an overall vision for what a well-adapted UK would look like. This makes it harder to set out a clear strategy.
Based on our own research and interviews with experts in climate change and policy making, this report explores the options for bringing adaptation into the foreground of UK government policy making.
