Climate Change Minister Joan Ruddock yesterday called on organisations across the public and private sector to develop imaginative and innovative approaches to deal with the impact of a changing climate.

Launching a new information hub that will help businesses, planners, and others to adapt to climate change, Ms Ruddock said that as the climate changed, there would be more extreme weather, with an increased risk of flooding and erosion, hotter and drier summers, loss of biodiversity and risks to human health - and society would have to adapt to those changes.

The Adapting to Climate Change website is a one-stop shop offering easy access to the most comprehensive collection of resources on adapting to climate change available in the UK, and is part of the Government's drive to ensure that Britain is ready to deal with the impacts of climate change that are already irreversible. It includes details of how the climate will alter, links to practical tools for adaptation, and examples of what is already being done around the country.

"Our climate is changing. We need to future proof our buildings and public spaces against this as much as possible. Even nature itself will need help to adapt to climate change if we're not to lose precious biodiversity.

"We'll need good design that works with the environment rather than against it, creating buildings that stay cool in the heat and deal with water that will be in short supply in summer and pouring into the drains during heavy storms. This one stop shop will help people to identify the challenges we will face in the future and to make the decisions now that will help us to manage them.

"We are already starting to see some visionary climate-resistant buildings around Britain. I want builders and designers to follow the lead of the innovators behind these buildings by factoring a changing climate into their plans."

One example of adaptation in practice is the Thames Estuary 2100, an Environment Agency project to develop a tidal flood risk management plan for the Thames Estuary though to the end of the century. Using the latest climate change scenarios and models, and taking account of future sea level rise, the final plan will recommend what flood risk management measures will be required in the Estuary, where they will be needed and when over the coming century. The final plan will also be flexible to ensure that it can be adaptable to sea levels rising faster, or storm surges become more intense than anticipated.

Preliminary findings show that the Thames Barrier with some adaptation, will continue to provide protection through to the end of the century. However, by 2050 we may need to improve many of the flood defence walls and embankments and that we will need to create new inter-tidal habitats to offset the impact of rising sea levels before 2030.