Political View: Why councils must be prepared for climate change
“we need to ensure that local and regional governments are well prepared for the climate impacts we are going to witness”
Like many parts of Europe, last week Peterborough experienced record-breaking temperatures more typical of mid-summer in the Mediterranean than springtime in England. The heatwave has caused issues with water pressure and water shortages in our region and across the UK, writes Nicola Day of Peterborough Green Party.
A few hot days in May do not in themselves constitute climate change, but they are consistent with what I think most of us would recognise as a dangerous trend where abnormal is the new normal.
A recent report advises the UK Government to prepare for a two degree centigrade global warming by 2050. Inadequate and delayed adaptation will increase the costs of action as heatwaves, wildfires, floods and droughts will become more frequent. The report calls on the UK Government to invest around 11 billion annually on climate resilience, including adaptation across three priority areas, namely protection from heat, managing flood risk and avoiding water shortages.
These impacts are being felt across Peterborough and Cambridgeshire, and we need to ensure that local and regional governments are well prepared for the climate impacts we are going to witness. They need to be ready to deliver essential services and prepare communities for the effects of climate change.
In Peterborough, as a result of a policy which I have implemented, we have a ‘Climate Adaptation Plan'; which is a dedicated framework aimed at protecting the local community and infrastructure from the risks of extreme weather events such as heatwaves, flooding and drought.
The strategy prioritises the protection of the most vulnerable residents, focusing on housing resilience, care home protections and addressing fuel poverty. It also embeds nature-based solutions, such as expanded tree planting, enhanced drainage management and biodiversity net-gain into local planning.
How decision-makers respond and implement these strategies will have a direct impact for our future food, energy, economic and social systems.
This is going to need financing. While the UK is legally required to adapt to climate change under the 2008 Climate Change Act (CCA), delivery is siloed and unevenly implemented. UK councils operate under significant financial stress and face a £27 billion funding gap. The new UK Committee on Climate Change (CCC) report stresses the need for adaptation funding to cover planning, implementation and evaluation.
This must also include enabling operational capacity through co-ordination with neighbouring local authorities along with national and regional agencies. Existing barriers to effective adaptation delivery need to be met by strengthening cross-sector co-ordination and local governance. The Peterborough and Cambridgeshire Combined Authority could play a major role here in delivering on adaptations and preparedness across the region.
Whatever your belief about global warming, with a 'Super El Nino” on its way, we will experience hotter summers, harsher winters and more disruptive weather patterns. By recognising and adapting to these risks early Peterborough, Cambridgeshire and the UK can protect societal and economic resilience, and safeguard its long-term stability.