The UK government has made insufficient progress in equipping the country for the increasing risks brought on by rising temperatures, according to a warning from its independent climate advisory body.
In a sharply critical assessment, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) states that advancement is “either too slow, has stalled, or is going in the wrong direction.”
The report cautions that vital sectors—from healthcare and social care to food and water security—could face significant economic and public health consequences in the coming decades.
The government in response highlighted its investments in flood defences but conceded that further efforts are necessary.
Floods Minister Emma Hardy told BBC News the government is “truly committed” to addressing climate adaptation.
“We have allocated £2.65 billion to enhance, maintain, and construct new flood protection measures.
“But it is clear, of course, that more remains to be done.”
The UK is increasingly experiencing severe weather events linked to climate change, including record 40C heat in July 2022 and the wettest 18 months ever recorded in England between October 2022 and March 2024.
Such episodes are expected to grow both in frequency and intensity as global temperatures rise due to greenhouse gas emissions.
Effective preparation can help mitigate the impact by building greater resilience, but the CCC warns that current efforts are nowhere near sufficient.
Baroness Brown, chair of the CCC’s Adaptation Committee, told BBC News: “We are witnessing climate impacts escalating and intensifying, yet it seems the government is not treating this with the urgency required.”
“Despite pledges in the manifesto to tackle resilience, concrete action is missing so far,” she said.
“There have been encouraging statements… but no substantial measures implemented yet.”
None of the 46 sectors reviewed were considered to be making ‘good’ progress on climate adaptation. Only three areas had strong forward-looking plans and policies.
These findings echo the CCC’s 2023 report.
Healthcare remains one of the most vulnerable sectors.
The CCC notes not just increasing fatalities linked to heatwaves, but also the susceptibility of hospitals to extreme temperatures.
Baroness Brown cited the example of Guy’s and St Thomas’—London’s largest hospital group—which suffered data centre outages during July 2022’s heatwave.
This disruption halted digital appointment systems during peak demand, forcing a switch to paper records.
“We lost thousands of crucial appointments for vital tests,” she stressed.
“Efforts to improve the NHS must also address climate resilience, or we risk reversing progress.”
Flooding also remains a significant concern, with policies on river and coastal flood resilience regressing since the CCC’s last analysis.
The historic market town of Tenbury Wells in Worcestershire exemplifies the challenge, having suffered repeated flooding over the past four years—most recently in November 2024.
Charity shop manager Polly Pearce recounted her shop being inundated.
“It happened so quickly… like a tsunami,” she recalled.
“[The water] rose above the wall panelling—we had all our Christmas stock ready but lost everything.”
Many shops on the main street now stand empty, reportedly due to the financial fallout from repeated flooding.
Shopkeepers say insurers are unwilling to cover their premises, or policy costs have become prohibitively expensive.
The Environment Agency has stated it cannot afford the estimated £25m–£30m needed for flood protections in the town.
The government insists it remains committed to supporting residents and plans to commence flood resilience upgrades on properties this summer.
The CCC acknowledges positive steps in areas such as risk assessment for businesses and financial entities.
Cost remains a central issue in these debates.
However, delaying adaptation measures in an effort to save money would be “a huge mistake,” risking greater long-term economic harm, according to Baroness Brown.
“We are very concerned about the upcoming spending review,” she said, in a direct appeal from the Committee.
“This is not an issue for the future; it is an immediate challenge. Failing to act today risks disaster tomorrow.”
A BBC freedom of information request revealed that just 18 staff at the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) are solely dedicated to climate adaptation—only 0.3% of Defra’s nearly 6,600 core staff.
Defra clarified that some staff contribute to climate adaptation on a part-time basis, and the figures do not account for relevant personnel in other government departments.
Additional reporting by Miho Tanaka
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