The Climate Change Committee is warning that the Government’s Third National Adaptation Programme falls “far short of what is required” as evidence of the UK’s inadequate response to worsening climate impacts continues to mount.

The warning comes in the assessment of the Government’s Third National Adaptation Programme (NAP3) published today by the CCC, the Government’s independent,climate change adviser.

Published in July 2023, NAP3 is the UK Government’s statutory plan to ensure the country is prepared for the effects of climate change. According to the CCC, while it improves upon previous programmes, its key failure remains the absence of a credible vision for a well-adapted UK, resilient to the climate risks now facing British people and businesses.

With February 2024 the warmest on record in the UK and the fourth wettest February ever recorded, Baroness Brown, Chair of the Adaptation Committee commented:

“The evidence of the damage from climate change has never been clearer, but the UK’s current approach to adaptation is not working.

“Defra needs to deliver an immediate strengthening of the Government’s programme, with an overhaul of its integration with other Government priorities such as Net Zero and nature restoration. We cannot wait another five years for only incremental improvement.”

Climate change is now bringing major challenges to the UK, but the CCC’s assessment of the Government’s Third National Adaptation Programme (NAP3) is that it falls far short of what is required. Evidence of the UK’s inadequate response to worsening climate impacts continues to mount, the CCC says.

NAP3 contains a commitment to an evolving programme over its lifetime which the Committee says should be acted on as soon as possible. The NAP3 programme is based largely on existing policy or mechanisms – which means that less than half of the short-term actions to address urgent risks identified in the last Climate Change Risk Assessment are being progressed. The CCC says oonly around 40% of the short-term actions to address urgent risks identified in the last Climate Change Risk Assessment are progressed.

Image credit the CCC

The CCC is highlighting the following critical issues which need to be resolved:

Governance. Over three iterations of the NAP, Defra has failed to make adaptation a top priority within the department or in other central government departments, despite the growing evidence of climate impacts. It is still not sufficiently well-understood or resourced, particularly in local government. The present approach of coordination by Defra is not working. Effective cross-Government collaboration is needed to ensure all departments are engaged with adaptation and recognise the challenges that climate impacts can have across multiple sectors at any one time.

Investment. Adaptation in the UK is insufficiently funded to manage the scale of the climate impacts we will experience. NAP3 does not tackle effectively the barriers to investment, such as low perceived urgency of adaptation, lack of clear targets and the limited understanding of adaptation actions. There also remains a limited understanding on the role of spending on adaptation from the private and public sector.

Monitoring. The CCC cannot fully assess progress without better monitoring and evaluation. A system of comprehensive indicators and data collection is vital and – as seen in other countries – it improves the response to climate impacts.

The Committee says there is currently a window to build more effective climate resilience in the UK. This includes long-term decisions are being taken on the new Environmental Land Management Scheme and new price control periods for energy, water and rail, which could accommodate effective resilience standards to manage future climate risks. "These opportunities must be grabbed before another window for meaningful change closes," the CCC says.

Since the publication of NAP3, there has been international agreement on the framework for the Global Goal on Adaptation at COP28. However, despite the UK being an important player in the negotiation of this, the current NAP does not meet the targets within the new Framework in full.

The assessment says the NAP’s status across Government remains too low and it must be strengthened to make it fit for the gravity of known climate risks in the UK.

The CCC is calling for an urgent refresh of NAP3 and adaptation governance to be undertaken in the new Parliament, saying that NAP3 must be strengthened to avoid locking in additional climate impacts and key reforms must be implemented over the next years.

According to the assessment, the UK has also now lost its place as a leader in climate adaptation. The CCC is recommending that the UK should look to international examples of good practice as valuable templates of what should be achieved as part of the refresh of the NAP. Examples include actions in Germany, Canada, USA, Bangladesh, New Zealand and Netherlands.

Institution of Civil Engineers warns: delay and problems will become worse and more expensive to solve

In response to the Climate Change Committee’s assessment of the Government’s Third National Adaptation Programme (NAP3), Chris Richards, director of policy, Institution of Civil Engineers said:

“When the third National Adaptation Programme (NAP3) was published last year, the ICE urged the UK government to ramp up its climate adaptation activity and said that climate change is not some far off threat, but something that is happening now.

“One only has to read the news stories about the warmest, wettest February on record, which has contributed to worrying flooding around the UK to understand how urgent this issue is.

“Acting quickly means the UK has the opportunity to develop world-leading infrastructure that is fit for the future. Delay, and the problems will become worse, and more expensive to solve.

“The CCC is right to identify governance, investment and monitoring as critical issues holding back the UK’s climate adaptation goals, and the ICE has previously made policy recommendations that align with these areas, like making the Adaptation Reporting Power of the UK Climate Change Act mandatory.”

Click here to download the CCC’s Independent Assessment of Third National Adaptation Programme NAP3