‘Adapt or die’ says Environment Agency in urgent report

The Environment Agency is urging society to invest in adaptation to climate change, rather than living with the costs of inaction.

Adaptation to climate change is just as vital as mitigation, said the Environment Agency, and the climate emergency can only be tackled if we focus on adapting to the inevitable climate impacts.

Emma Howard Boyd, Chair of the Environment Agency, said: “The climate crisis is global, but its impacts are in your village, your shop, your home.”

“Significant climate impacts are inevitable. We can successfully tackle the climate emergency if we do the right things, but we are running out of time to implement effective adaptation measures. Our thinking must change faster than the climate.”

“It is adapt or die. With the right approach we can be safer and more prosperous. So let’s prepare, act and survive.”

The Environmental Agency’s third adaptation report states even with a 2°C temperature rise compared to pre-industrial levels, dramatic projections include a 15% decrease in summer rainfall by 2050s, an 8% increase in winter rainfall by 2080s, and 45cm sea level rise in London by 2080s.

If no action is taken before 2050, public water supplies will be expected to require more than 3.4 billion extra litres of water per day.

Baroness Brown of Cambridge, Chair of the CCC’s Adaptation Committee, said: “We’re pleased to see the Environment Agency publishing its latest climate change adaptation plan. This road map will be vital to ensuring our natural and built environments are well adapted to the significant changes in our climate taking place today, with more to come.”

The report also sets out five climate “reality checks” to make the case for urgent action on adaptation.

The report highlights how the Environment Agency is working with government, businesses and communities to prepare for the impacts of climate change, including delivering a record £5.2 billion programme of new flood and coastal defences over the next six years.

While the risks are serious, they can be addressed by early action, and the report also sets out how the Environment Agency is meeting those challenges.