The Climate Change Committee is warning that the UK is not prepared for climate change and the impacts of extreme weather, including the rising incidents of severe flooding on property and critical infrastructure.
The warning comes from the CCC, the government’s independent adviser on climate change, in its annual report to Parliament on Progress in adapting to climate change published today.
According to the CCC, there is now unequivocal evidence that climate change is making extreme weather in the UK more likely and more extreme, which the UK is not appropriately prepared for.
The report is calling for immediate action to ensure that the UK is prepared for both today’s extreme weather, as well as the rapidly increasing severity of future risks.
The CCC is warning that over half of England’s top quality agricultural land is at risk of flooding today, with a further increase in total agriculture land at risk expected by 2050. Climate change also poses a major threat to UK biodiversity, at a time when it is degrading rapidly.
In addition, 6.3 million properties in England are in areas at risk of flooding from rivers, the sea, and surface water. This is predicted to rise to around 8 million (one in four) by 2050. Steadily rising sea levels at the UK’s coasts will increase the risk of coastal flooding and exacerbate coastal erosion.
The Committee wants long-term targets on net change in flood risk to be included in the next flood and coastal erosion risk management investment programme. These need to be supported with sufficient levels of funding and a clear delivery plan to ensure these targets are met.
Over a third of railway and road kilometres are currently at flood risk, predicted to rise to around half by 2050. Extreme heat also disrupts infrastructure systems via rail buckling and power line sagging. The CCC is calling on the Government to set out in the 10-year infrastructure strategy how it intends to mainstream climate adaptation into the delivery of infrastructure across sectors. This includes setting out clear resilience standards for infrastructure systems.
Water companies remain off track to deliver water demand and leakage reduction targets
The report makes specific comments and recommendations on progress in the water sector in adapting to the impacts of climate change, saying that water companies remain off track to deliver the water demand and leakage reduction targets needed to prepare for a drier future despite new plans.
“The lack of new actions to meet the targets for demand reduction and leakage improvement means that we no longer judge there to be fully credible plans in these areas. Reviews of governance and regulation in this sector should seek to address these gaps.”
Price Review in 2029 must fund and encourage more ambitious adaptation action and more ambitious options
According to the report, Ofwat’s 2024 Price Review does not bring forward sufficient credible options for delivering demand and leakage reduction targets - despite demonstrated shortfalls of plans.
The CCC is calling for the Government to ensure that the next water regulatory settlement in 2029 can fund and encourage more ambitious adaptation action and more ambitious options to get the sector back on track for its demand and leakage reduction targets.
Commenting on improved system performance in the water sector, the report says this has worsened and that the continued slow rate of leakage reduction is now “clearly inconsistent” with meeting the sector’s targets.
Unchecked climate change could impact UK economic output by up 7% of GDP
Estimates suggest that unchecked climate change could impact UK economic output by up to 7% of GDP by 2050, creating challenges for driving sustainable long-term growth across the country.
Baroness Brown, Chair of the Adaptation Committee, said:
“We have seen in the last couple of years that the country is not prepared for the impacts of climate change. We know there is worse to come, and we are not ready – indeed in many areas we are not even planning to be ready. The threat is greatest for the most vulnerable: we do not have resilient hospitals, schools, or care homes. Public and private institutions alike are unprepared.
“We can see our country changing before our eyes. People are having to cope with more regular extreme weather impacts. People are experiencing increasing food prices. People are worried about vulnerable family members during heatwaves.
“Ineffective and outdated ways of working within Government are holding back the country’s ability to be future-fit. Is this Government going to face up to the reality of our situation? Failing to act will impact every family and every person in the country.”
Adaptation progress is either too slow, has stalled, or is heading in the wrong direction
The report assesses the extent to which the UK’s Third National Adaptation Programme (NAP3) and its implementation are preparing the UK for climate change. The Adaptation Committee says that the vast majority of the assessment outcomes for the 2025 report have the same low scores as in 2023. In terms of adaptation delivery, the CCC does not find evidence to score a single outcome as ‘good’.
The CCC finds that the UK’s preparations for climate change are inadequate and that delivery of effective adaptation remains limited and, despite some progress, planning for adaptation continues to be piecemeal and disjointed. Adaptation progress is either too slow, has stalled, or is heading in the wrong direction. “Whilst there is some evidence of policies and plans improving, it is clear that NAP3 has been ineffective in driving the critical shift towards effective delivery of adaptation highlighted in our previous progress report in 2023,” the report says.
According to the report, the Government has yet to change the UK’s inadequate approach to tackling climate risks – despite the current government’s manifesto which promised to ‘improve resilience and preparation across central government, local authorities, local communities, and emergency services’.
“It inherited a NAP that fell short of the task of preparing the UK for the climate change we are experiencing today, let alone that coming in the future. Our assessment finds little evidence of a change of course. The slow pace of change indicates that adaptation is not yet a top priority across government,” the report states.
The Committee says that Government must act without further delay to improve the national approach to climate resilience – and that a new approach is still possible. The CCC is calling for action in four key areas to raise the profile of adaptation across government and drive a more effective response to the UK’s changing climate.
Improve objectives and targets. This is the vital first step to provide an actionable and measurable framework for the rest of government and beyond. As part of this, the Government must communicate clearly the respective roles of government, the private sector and households in delivering and funding adaptation.
Improve coordination across government. Adaptation and climate risks are still only weakly integrated with wider government resilience efforts and other key policy agendas. Greater coordination across activities, spending decisions, sectors, and departments is required. Government adaptation efforts must be better linked with wider resilience planning to ensure that adaptation becomes a true cross-government priority.
Integrate adaptation into all relevant policies. The next Spending Review needs to ensure that climate adaptation planning is supported with sufficient resources across government. Public assets, and critical public services such as the NHS, need to be resilient to current and future weather so that they can operate effectively, and in the case of new infrastructure, without costly retrofitting. The Government’s policy agenda can help to close key policy gaps identified in this report, but only if climate resilience is adequately incorporated into their forthcoming strategies and plans.
Implement monitoring, evaluation and learning across all sectors. Adequate monitoring and evaluation, underpinned by regular data collection and reporting, is essential to track climate impacts and the effect of adaptation measures at a national level. It is also needed to ensure future planning learns from what is effective. The long-standing gap of an effective monitoring and evaluation framework for adaptation must finally be closed.
Click here to download the Committee’s report on progress in adapting to climate change 2025