The National Infrastructure Commission and Climate Change Committee have written jointly to government calling for urgent action improve the resilience of key infrastructure services to the effects of climate change.

The letter was sent to Oliver Dowden MP, Deputy Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Thérèse Coffey MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 26 April.

Referring to two separate reports by both organisations in recent weeks which each highlight significant gaps in delivering climate-resilient infrastructure, the letter says national adaptation planning is falling behind.

The CCC report says it found “very limited evidence” of implementation of adaptation at the scale needed to prepare fully for climate risks facing UK infrastructure. Credible planning for climate change was only found for five out of the 23 infrastructure and built environment adaptation outcomes examined.

The independent advisory bodies to the government set out five steps to accelerate national adaptation planning to protect key networks:

1. Setting clear and measurable goals for resilience, and action plans to deliver them

The letter says implementation of resilience standards ( as the NIC recommended three years ago) should be a priority – a set of annually reported indicators and data sharing across infrastructure providers are needed to monitor progress and ensure whole-system resilience.

2. Align policymaking for resilient infrastructure with regulatory cycles

Ensuring that resilience standards are developed in time to inform the forthcoming regulatory price control periods which set investment levels for operators. Between now and 2029 there will be new price controls for electricity, gas, twice for water and a new control period for Network Rail. The CCC and NIC say that if new outcome-based resilience standards are not developed until 2030, every single one of those cycles will be missed and the window of opportunity for investment to meet those standards will be pushed back until the 2030s.

3. Giving explicit duties for resilience to all infrastructure regulators

Essential duties should be given to regulators that presently do not have them. The CCC and NIC say Ofwat’s resilience duty has been central to resilience planning in the water sector and similar duties need to be given to Ofgem, Ofcom and the Office of Rail and Road.

4. Cabinet-level oversight of interdependencies and whole-system resilience

Resilience coordination between infrastructure systems to head-off cascading impacts must be strengthened. Interdependencies between infrastructure systems mean that climate impacts in one system cascade and interact with others. Both organisations are calling for Cabinet-level oversight of interdependencies.

5. Embed net zero and climate adaptation in infrastructure planning

Through the Government’s Net Zero strategy, the UK is preparing for a major programme of infrastructure investment. The need for resilient and reliable infrastructure systems must be designed-in from the start, including when building low carbon homes and new networks such as hydrogen.

"We must not delay improving the resilience of UK infrastructure to protect the country"

Baroness Brown of Cambridge Chair, Adaptation Committee and Sir John Armitt Chair, National Infrastructure Commission concluded their letter by saying:

“The Climate Change Committee and the National Infrastructure Commission continue to work independently, but our advice on these critical issues is fully aligned. We must not delay improving the resilience of UK infrastructure to protect the country from the well-understood risks of the UK’s changing climate.”