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Climate Impacts

Climate Change Committee: How to help the UK public prepare for climate impacts

11 September 2023

Reviewing research on climate adaptation behaviours, a report prepared by the CAST centre for the Climate Change Committee concluded that most people know very little about how they can prepare for changes such as extreme heat, droughts, or flooding. The authors highlight that it is important for politicians to clearly communicate what types of behaviours are most effective in preparing for a changing climate, and provide advice tailored to the type of risk, alongside other measures like financial incentives for homeowners.

Reference article:

  • Source: Climate Change Committee
  • Authors: Kaloyan Mitev, Lois Player, Caroline Verfuerth, Steve Westlake, Lorraine Whitmarsh
  • Date: 11th September 2023

The latest from the Climate Impacts timeline:

Climate Barometer Tracker 21st January 2025

Majority think UK is not prepared for climate impacts

An overwhelming majority of the public think the UK is not well prepared to deal with climate change impacts and extreme weather, such as flooding, storms and droughts.

The latest Climate Barometer tracker data shows that only 16% agreed with the statement that “The UK is making good progress in terms of adapting to the risks posed by climate change impacts”, while 39% disagreed.

More than two thirds (68%) believed that flooding was “the most pressing to deal with in the UK”. This was followed by concerns about sea level rising and coastal erosion; loss of species, habitats and threats of extinction (both 45%); and severe storms (44%).

Policy Insight 24th October 2024

Growing calls for a ‘climate resilient net zero’

In the face of rising climate impacts, UK-based researchers are calling for more measures that simultaneously tackle the root causes of climate change, while enabling society to adapt.

Efforts to tackle climate change have tended to prioritise mitigation (reducing emissions) over adaptation efforts (reducing vulnerabilities), and these two broad types of measures are often split across government departments, such as Defra and DESNZ in the UK. 

But new research, using the UK’s record-breaking 40C heatwave in 2022 as a case study, has found clear demands for national and local governments to roll out measures that combine mitigation and adaptation.

Policy-makers, climate organisations, and those working in emergency response felt that approaches – such as creating climate-resilient neighbourhoods, tree-planting and other nature-based solutions – should be a priority, given their dual benefits. They felt efforts to combine emissions reductions and adaptation have challenges, but were feasible, with better coordination.

The new analysis also suggests that framing these efforts as part of working towards a ‘climate resilient net zero’ can be a useful way of engaging a range of relevant audiences and decision-makers – building on existing support for net zero.

The study findings are supported by Climate Barometer tracker insights, which shows that both the public and MPs feel mitigation and adaptation are equally important. It also echoes previous work which found that the public view mitigation and adaptation as “two sides of the same coin”.

  • Source: Grantham Research Institute on climate change and the environment
  • Authors: Candice Howarth, Niall McLoughlin, Ellie Murtagh, Andrew P. Kythreotis, James Porter
  • Date: 21st October 2024
Climate Barometer Tracker 18th September 2024

Almost half of Britons have personally experienced heat waves

When asked about their personal experiences of climate impacts, large proportions of the public have experienced heat waves, extreme heat, storms, and flooding. Of these, heat is the most commonly experienced climate impact, with almost half of Britons surveyed saying they had personally experienced it.

Only 28% of people surveyed in the Climate Barometer Tracker in April 2024 said that they ‘have never experienced any of these climate events’.

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