LONDON – London is not ready to deal with climate risks including flooding and overheating, according to an independent review of government measures.
An interim report, published on Jan 17, concluded that the British capital is not adapting quickly enough to mounting risks from global warming. That includes the potential failure of flood defences along the Thames River, surface flooding from heavy rainfall, threats to water supplies and increasingly severe heatwaves.
The report was commissioned by London Mayor Sadiq Khan in response to the flash floods of 2021 and the extreme summer heatwave of 2022, which saw temperatures breaching 40 deg C in the city.
Compared with efforts to cut emissions, a relatively small amount of money has been invested globally in infrastructure and programmes to adapt to climate change. That failure could end up costing billions in damages in the long run. The United Nations estimated in 2019 that spending around US$1.8 trillion (S$2.4 trillion) on adaptation measures by 2030 would generate US$7.1 trillion in benefits.
“Londoners now face lethal risks,” said Ms Emma Howard-Boyd, a former chair of the UK Environment Agency who oversaw the review. “In the absence of national leadership, regional government has a more significant role to play.”
The report echoes warnings from the Climate Change Committee, Britain’s official climate change adviser. In 2023, it said there was “very limited evidence” of measures needed to prepare the country for more extreme weather and instability.
The review called for updated housing standards to shield residents from overheating, something that has become more urgent after record-breaking temperatures in 2022 led to hundreds of deaths in London. It also called for a preparedness exercise to test the city’s resilience to severe heat.
“I welcome these recommendations,” Mr Khan said, adding that he has proposed an additional £3 million (S$5 million) for climate adaptation in his latest budget and plans to carry out the preparedness exercise in 2024. The review will release its full report later in the year. BLOOMBERG
