Climate change faster than Britain can manage
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
LONDON • Britain is struggling to put in place adequate measures to deal with rising sea levels and warmer temperatures caused by pollution, the government's independent adviser on climate matters has warned.
Average land temperatures in Britain have risen by around 1.2-deg C compared with pre-industrial levels, while sea levels have risen by 16cm since 1900, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) said in a report on Tuesday. Yet adaptation is not happening fast enough.
In the past five years, more than half a million new homes were built that will not be resilient to future high temperatures, according to the panel.
More than 4,000 heat-related deaths have taken place in England alone since 2018.
"The longer action to address these risks is delayed, the higher the costs the government and the UK public will face," the CCC said in a statement. The committee called on the country's leaders to boost their efforts to address climate change.
Britain is hosting global climate talks this year, culminating in the United Nations' COP26 summit in Glasgow in November.
The CCC's report highlighted eight areas where urgent action is needed, including managing risks to soil health from flooding and drought, and addressing risks to human health from increased exposure to heat.
BLOOMBERG
