Climate activists slam government’s ‘lacklustre’ and ‘foot-dragging’ plan to adapt UK to climate change

Climate activists have slammed the UK government for its “lacklustre” strategy to adapt the country to climate change, branding it an “exercise in foot-dragging”.

The latest National Adaptation Programme, known as NAP3, has been released on Tuesday (18 July) and has been described by Environment Secretary Therese Coffey as a “step change in our approach to managing the risks of climate change, moving us from planning to action”.

Amy Cameron, Greenpeace UK’s programme director, told NationalWorld Rishi Sunak is “failing” on cutting emissions that are heating up the planet and not preparing the UK to withstand the impacts.

Ms Cameron said that the government has published the climate adaptation but Sunak is “goading fossil fuel giants into drilling for more oil and gas” and he needs to “get serious about tackling one of the biggest threats we face”.

She added: “It’s time for Sunak to cancel his own holiday from climate reality.”

In the Programme the Environment Department highlighted the previously confirmed investment of £2.2 billion to improve water quality and pointed to plans for a pilot of a dedicated climate data tool to help local authorities plan and adapt.

Elsewhere the plan states that the Department for Education will carry out annual climate risk assessments from this year and “prioritise nature-based solutions by 2025 including sustainable drainage systems such as rain gardens.”

It also commits the Ministry of Justice to research the impact of climate on staff and prisoner behaviour, with pilots planned by 2027.

The new government Programme comes after the Climate Change Committee (CCC), which advises and monitors government progress on the issue, warned that ministers had not made enough progress in adapting to climate change.

In response to the recently published Progress plan, Baroness Brown, Chair of the Adaptation Committee, said it is “progress on previous plans” but “we are disappointed that the government hasn’t used this opportunity to go further to build the UK’s resilience to climate change.”

She said it is “not a plan containing extensive new commitments” and after “another summer of gruelling hot temperatures, water shortages and wildfires, it’s hard to make sense of that decision.”

She added: “We are at the stage where promising further action is not enough.”

Ms Cameron said the extreme heat that is currently being experienced across Europe and continent shows “there’s no running away from the impacts of the climate crisis” but “that’s exactly what our prime minister seems to be doing.”

Twenty red warning alerts have been issued today (Tuesday 18 July) out of 27 cities in Italy as the country braces for its highest-ever temperature while temperature records are breaking worldwide as both the US and China saw the mercury surpassing 50C on Sunday (16 July).

Paul de Zylva, Friends of the Earth campaigner, said the UK has “one of the most poorly insulated housing stocks in Europe” as well as “low levels of tree cover and green spaces” which can help cool our towns and cities, making the UK “particularly vulnerable to both the heat and cold.”

She told NationalWorld that it is “clear” that the government is “woefully underprepared for protecting people from the extreme weather events that are becoming more frequent.”

She added: “Rather than facing up to huge challenges we face, this lacklustre adaptation strategy is an exercise in foot-dragging and prevarication.

“Climate chaos isn’t tomorrow’s problem it’s happening now. There are clear solutions - but we need the government to be taking much tougher action to protect us."

The Committee’s report, released on Wednesday 28 June, said the UK has “lost its clear global leadership position on climate action” and has “backtracked on fossil fuel commitments”.

Emma Howard Boyd, chair of the London Climate Resilience Review, said the programme “should be a wake-up call” but “it seems they are taking a nap”.

Linda Taylor, environment spokeswoman for the Local Government Association, said some aspects were positive but warned that the plan “does not deliver the overall funding and support necessary to enable urgent acceleration of local adaptation action”.