Water Sector Report Climate Change Risk Assessment (2012)
The purpose of the first Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA) was to assess the key risks and opportunities facing the UK from climate change to the year 2100. The CCRA is required by the Climate Change Act 2008 and will be completed every five years. This Water Sector Report is one of 11 Sector Reports and is a key step in the process of developing the evidence base for the CCRA. The analysis described in this report covers three themes: pressures on water availability, water quality, and the deterioration of water company assets.
| Executive Summary |
| 4This report outlines the UK Government’s views on the main issues raised in the Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA) Evidence Report (an independent analysis funded by UK Government and Devolved Governments), to highlight actions already in place to manage the risks identified in the CCRA, and to outline UK Government plans for the future.The CCRA Evidence Report sets out the main risks and opportunities for the UK, arising from climate change, over the coming years. It is important to note that the analysis, informed by the UK Climate Projections, provides a baseline of impacts, disregarding current and future planned action in the majority of the analysis. Excluding these factors from the analysis provides a more robust ‘baseline’ against which the effects of different plans and policies can be more easily assessed.The CCRA can be used to:• Compare the risks posed by a changing climate over the next 80 years and to prioritise and compare these risks;• Provide evidence to support primarily Government, but also businesses, local authorities and other organisations, in making decisions on adaptation policies and actions.The UK CCRA Evidence Report has been laid before Parliament in line with the requirements of the Climate Change Act 2008. Government will be setting out proposals and policies for responding to the risks identified in the CCRA through the National Adaptation Programme (NAP) (covering England and reserved, excepted and non-devolved matters), to be published during 2013.This report sets out the main priorities for adaptation in the UK under five key themes identified in the CCRA Evidence Report: Natural Environment; Buildings & Infrastructure; Health & Wellbeing; Business & Services; and Agriculture & Forestry and describes the policy context in each area. It highlights the constraints of the CCRA analysis and provides advice on how to take account of the uncertainty within the analysis.This Report also takes account of the various initiatives and policies on adaptation in place and looks forward to Government’s plans to develop a National Adaptation Programme to manage the major risks, and take advantage of the opportunities, set out in the CCRA.While this report is a UK Government publication, the CCRA research has been funded as a partnership between the UK Government and Devolved Governments, who will be using the findings to inform their own adaptation programmes. |