Building resilience through adaptation planning

There is a high degree of confidence that the world’s climate is changing

 

Defra civil servant explaining the Government's adaptation plans in 2012 © Climate UK

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Introduction

Many of the services provided by local authorities and other local organisations are likely to be affected by climate change. Increased flooding over the last few years and the severe winter storms of 2013/14, resulting in people being forced out of their homes and disruption to businesses and services, have increased the profile of our changing climate. With climate change, these types of events are likely to become more frequent, as the UK is identified as an area at risk from the more immediate effects of global warming. High summer temperatures are also likely to increase, which could result in drought conditions, as well as more frequent heatwaves.
 

 

Responsibilities and priorities

Local authorities have responsibilities for promoting wellbeing in economic, social and environmental terms and should be considering how to actively prepare for climate change to ensure that their communities, particularly those that are most vulnerable, are resilient to future impacts. Other local organisations, such as housing associations, emergency services and healthcare clinical commissioning groups also have responsibilities to support our most vulnerable communities, now and in the future.

 

Increasing the resilience of our communities, businesses, infrastructure and natural environment to the impacts of severe weather and climate change should be a key priority. This will be important to ensure our sustained economic prosperity, to maintain and enhance environmental quality and to ensure our health and wellbeing within a fair and just society. There is a wealth of support and advice available to enable organisations, in all sectors, to understand the potential threats and opportunities that climate change is likely to bring, but less guidance concerning the ‘How do I do it?’ question.

 

 

Identifying who is vulnerable

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s Climate Change and Social Justice programme, which this website draws upon, provides a wealth of evidence about vulnerable people and places in the UK. Work includes mapping indicators which help to explain the factors that make people more or less vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. In addition to environmental factors which might increase the impacts of specific climate hazards (e.g. living in certain types of housing), individual and social characteristics are identified which relate to people’s personal sensitivity and their ability to prepare for, respond to and recover from the impacts of climate change. The map tool can be used to identify which communities are likely to be most vulnerable to climate change and which may have the greatest exposure to flooding (e.g. living close to rivers or in areas exposed to surface water flooding) and high temperatures (e.g. living in areas with the highest summer maximum temperatures in the 2050s). Local datasets can be used to supplement the information provided in these maps as appropriate.

 

Having a clear identification of the people and communities who may be most affected is a crucial starting point. Furthermore, those affected need to have a say in the types of actions and responses that are developed to help them to adapt. This resource sets out:

  • Why adaptation planning is important at the local level
  • Where action is needed
  • How to develop an adaptation action plan
  • Further resources that may help you to improve resilience in your local community.

 

 

References

 

 

Adaptation planning is relevant for all organisations and localities; although planning activities may be led by local authorities, adaptation benefits everyone and needs to involve a range of organisations, as well as communities themselves, to be fully effective.

 

Farmers discussing the challenges of looking after the land in a changing climate © Climate UK

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Adaptation planning for everyone

This includes service providers in health and social care, housing, emergency services and voluntary and community organisations. This website provides information about specific vulnerable groups, such as: older people, people in poor health, people living in certain types of housing and people on low incomes. While the dedicated sections may be particularly relevant for people working in specific sectors, service providers need to have a wider appreciation of the range of factors affecting a person’s vulnerability and the measures which can be taken in response. Since local adaptation planning helps to frame collective action and make it more effective, it is therefore relevant for all.    

 

Local authorities and other local organisations have a crucial part to play in ensuring that local communities are as prepared as they can be for the impacts of future climate change. This comes both through the services they provide directly, and their role in enabling and facilitating change in their area, through working in partnership with others. The decisions they make and services they deliver are already being affected by extreme weather events and improving resilience is more cost-effective and fairer than investing substantial resources in recovery1. Whilst buildings and infrastructure can be repaired relatively quickly, the longer term impacts of extreme weather events on local economies and individuals’ health and wellbeing may take many years to overcome. Climate change is likely to exacerbate existing disadvantage for some groups and affect new groups too, for example, due to people facing problems insuring their homes due to flooding, or people’s livelihoods being disrupted by climate change impacts.

 

Duties and responsibilities

The Climate Change Act (2008) put in place a process for assessing and managing the risks and opportunities associated with climate change in the UK. The first UK Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA) was produced in 2012 and the first National Adaptation Programme (NAP) in 2013. The CCRA is a statutory requirement and will be produced on a five yearly cycle. The NAP highlights the need for individuals, communities and organisations to understand the risks from climate change and work together to put in place long-term plans to manage these risks and become ‘climate ready’. It stresses the need to raise and maintain the profile of adaptation within local authorities and calls for action to embed climate resilience across services and responsibilities.

 

The National Planning Policy Framework, 2012 sets out clear requirements for local planning authorities stating that they ‘should adopt proactive strategies to mitigate and adapt to climate change’. It also specifies the need to ensure that new development is not at risk of and does not contribute to flooding and coastal erosion. In addition, the National Flood and Water Management Act, 2010 places specific responsibilities on local authorities in relation to flood risk.

 

The Civil Contingencies Act (2004) establishes a clear set of roles and responsibilities for those involved in emergency preparation and response at the local level. It identifies local authorities, emergency services and NHS bodies as Category 1 responders, which have a number of responsibilities. These include: identifying the risk of emergencies occurring; putting in place emergency plans and business continuity arrangements, and advising others (including voluntary organisations) on such arrangements. Local Resilience Forums (LRFs) were established following the introduction of the Act. These multi-agency bodies develop Community Risk Registers and work with Category 1 responders to ensure that the required level of civil protection is provided. LRFs should consider potential severe weather events and their potential impacts on vulnerable communities.

 

See also the presentation Why climate justice matters, which includes summaries of the relevant legislation. There are different versions of the presentation for Scotland and Wales which detail the different legislative context in each case.

 

References

  1. Nicholas Stern (2007) The Economics of Climate Change: The Stern Review

 

Climate change will impact all parts of the UK in some way during our lifetimes and everyone in our society will feel the effects at some point

 

Overheating on the London Underground is already a public health risk in today's climate © Environment Agency

 

Whether it is impacts on homes, workplaces, transport, livelihoods or holiday destinations, all individuals, communities or locations will be affected. The type and extent of adaption needed will vary depending on the type and severity of likely climate change impacts and the vulnerability of those affected. The most vulnerable communities are those most likely to be impacted by specific climate effects and also those least able to protect themselves, whether on financial, physical or social grounds. This adds to the case for climate change adaptation action to be integrated within all services.

 

Though future climate change predictions for the UK show variations, many areas will experience similar changes, such as increases in summer temperatures, increases in winter rainfall and increased instances of extreme weather.  However, some impacts will be felt more severely in particular areas, for instance:

  • Areas exposed to flooding from rivers or from surface water flooding
  • Areas along the coast where coastal erosion, sea level rise and flooding may be an issue
  • Built-up urban areas which experience the ‘Urban Heat Island’ effect and
  • Remote rural and coastal areas which are more likely to become isolated.

Likewise, there are certain community characteristics which will intensify the effects of climate change, for instance:

  • Where there are higher proportions of young children and babies
  • Areas with concentrations of older people or those living with disabilities or physical illnesses.

 

Previous research undertaken for the JRF reveals a distinct North-South divide in terms of socio-spatial climate vulnerability in England. The North West and the Yorkshire and the Humber regions have the highest proportions of neighbourhoods which are extremely socially vulnerable to river flooding. Average (mean) social-spatial flood vulnerability is lowest in the East of England and South East. This North-South divide also exists for socio-spatial vulnerability to heat, if London is discounted. However, temperatures tend to be higher in the South, so leading to less of a coincidence between vulnerability and exposure to heat.

 

These patterns still hold in updated, finer-scale work on flood vulnerability and disadvantage completed in 20171. However, the updated data provide further insights. Furthermore, social vulnerability and disadvantage are analysed in relation to investment in flood defences and development in floodplains. Findings are reported for urban and rural areas and other useful geographical units, such as ‘cities in decline’. Findings are also given for future trends, including considering the impacts of climate change. See the map tool to identify the vulnerability and disadvantage in your local area.

 

The actual actions that need to be taken will be contextually specific. Adaptation planning and action will vary between local areas because of the differing impacts these predictions will have on communities within the area, and the characteristics of these communities.

 

 

References

  1. Sayers, P.B., Horritt, M., Penning Rowsell, E., and Fieth, J. (2017). Present and future flood vulnerability, risk and disadvantage: A UK scale assessment. A report for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation published by Sayers and Partners LLP

 

To increase resilience, it is important to understand the problem, get the right people involved and develop an adaptation plan which sets out the actions needed

 

Implementation of this plan should achieve a reduction in vulnerability overall and reduce the potential for disproportionate impacts for some people and communities. See the resources on partnership working for more information.

 


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Following a step-by-step process can be helpful to address adaptation. A suggested process is set out here (see Figure 1 below) along with advice on how to achieve each step. It is important that the process is applied proportionately and that it doesn't become overly arduous and bureaucratic. In essence the process elaborates the basic steps used in plan-making and appraisal: identify the problem, plan, deliver, monitor and provide feedback. It also reflects the main stages in the UKCIP Adaptation Wizard (Getting Started, Current Climate Vulnerability, Future Climate Vulnerability, Adaptation Options, Monitor and Review), but has an additional focus on ensuring that the needs of the most vulnerable communities are prioritised.

 

The level of detail and investigation applied in relation to understanding impacts, developing responses and establishing a monitoring and feedback system should be proportionate to the size and complexity of the issue being addressed. So, for example, developing a communications campaign for care homes to be alert to the potential impacts of hot weather and the actions they can take would require less detailed investigations and monitoring than identifying the location, materials, layout and operating requirements of a new retirement village.


Figure 1: Climate Change Action Planning Process

 

Getting started

When embarking on the process of adaptation action planning, the first step is to ensure that the relevant organisations and individuals are involved. The exact organisations and individuals that will be involved will differ depending on the local context and also the scale at which action is taken (from neighbourhood level to local authority or another scale). So for example, for a local authority wide adaptation plan, establishing a cross-departmental steering group involving organisations outside of the council operating across the area would be a sensible starting point. But, a local flood action group would probably be led by members of the local community and involve local authority or local resilience forum support rather than leadership. At this stage, you may not know who is likely be most affected by climate change impacts, but if you already know about specific groups that are likely to be affected or who have already been affected locally (e.g. those identified in the datasets provided in this resource and any others who are not, such as gypsies and travellers, homeless people, or people with specific illnesses or care needs), it is important to ensure appropriate representation within the organising body as soon as possible. This is essential for achieving ownership and ensuring that needs are properly recognised.

 

Trusted voluntary and community organisations, such as Age UK or refugee community organisations, are often best placed to engage and inform vulnerable groups, but may also need to make connections in their own work to climate change concerns. More information about actions relating to the needs of older people and other vulnerable groups can be found here.

 

Community flood groups have been established in many parts of the UK, involving local businesses and residents to ensure that their needs are met. For example, in Purley, Surrey, a community flood group (Purley Flood Defence Group) was established to address the disruption caused by frequent flooding, particularly in the business area. Croydon Council contacted a number of affected individuals who set up Purley Flood Group by involving local residents and businesses who were interested in reducing the impact of flooding. The group met with all the relevant agencies, and developed a flood plan. Funding was provided by the Greater London Authority to develop the plan and to provide equipment such as flood wardens, tools and protective clothing.  The group now maintains constant contact with Croydon Council which provides them with flood alerts and they keep the Council updated regarding blocked drains and are getting a good response. They also get flood alerts from the Council. At the moment these have been just flood alerts and no action has been needed. Actions like this improve community cohesion and adaptive capacity, i.e. local communities’ ability to prepare for, respond to and recover from flood events. More information about community engagement can be found here.

 

Increase the profile of climate change adaptation

 

Increasing the profile of climate change concerns and the need for adaptation is important to embed responses across organisations working with vulnerable groups. Climate change needs to move out of its traditional environmental silo and become mainstreamed if we are to be properly prepared for its impacts. It should be built in at all levels from national policy making down to residents groups and should be automatically considered as a risk in relation to business continuity. Many local authorities no longer have dedicated climate change or environmental sustainability officers and many lower tier authorities never had such positions. This reduces institutional capacity for adaptation and makes coordination more difficult and inefficient. However, it also spreads the responsibilities throughout an entire organisation. As a result, all departments and partner organisations need to have internal leads on climate change and extreme weather and a remit to work with others for action planning and the realisation of joint goals.

 

Research suggests that climate change tends to be recognised by drainage engineers, flood risk management officers and spatial planners, but has much less of a priority within social services and housing functions. However, these are the very functions that deliver services to many vulnerable groups likely to be most impacted by climate change and they may be best placed to identify related risks. Some authorities, such as Hampshire County Council, have included resilience to future risks as a required consideration within council committee reports along with other issues such as equality. This helps to mainstream adaptation and make it an automatic consideration for officers and members regardless of the specific issue that is being addressed.

 

There are examples of adaptation being embedded in specific services which can be used to inform similar actions:

  • Oxfordshire County Council’s Property Services set up a Climate Change Action Group (CCAG) which assessed local risks and identified what their impacts could be for four property service interests – buildings, services, land and users. This resulted in the production of a Service Action Plan. This process was supported by the Head of Property Services along with support from the Management Team and other staff across the service, showing the importance of senior buy-in. The development of the plan has helped to raise awareness of the need for climate change adaptation action within the service and across the Council.
  • Wolverhampton Metropolitan Borough Council recognised the need for adaptation to be built into key processes such as risk assessment and appraisal during the masterplanning process for Bilston Urban Village. Using the risk, uncertainty and decision-making framework tool developed by UKCIP, the Council, Sustainability West Midlands Climate Change Partnership and Advantage West Midlands (former regional development agency) identified vulnerabilities to the site and wider area at the outset, thereby enabling the inclusion of proposed cost-effective measures (such as SUDS) in the masterplan.

 

Using language such as 'preparedness' and 'resilience' is essential to help raise the profile of climate change adaptation as is communicating risks in a way that can be understood without scare-mongering. It is usually easier to gain initial support by focusing on recent instances of extreme weather and the need to become resilient to current events rather than starting with looking at long term climate change projections which are uncertain, particularly if climate change sceptics are involved. This is not to suggest that long term adaptation is not important, it is just that initial interest is likely to be gained in relation to more immediate concerns. Ensuring that communities are resilient, in all senses, is an easier message to convey particularly in relation to extreme weather as this is increasingly being experienced. However, resilience can mean many things to different groups and is still an issue of academic debate.  When trying to promote the need for adaptation action with elected members, local organisations and communities it is far more straightforward to talk about communities being prepared for likely extreme weather and climate change impacts and being able to respond to and recover from any potential events.

 

The communication of climate change risk can also be confusing. For example the terminology used to explain flood risk is often in the form of a probability, for example a 1 in 100 year event. This can actually downplay risk as communities may consider that if they suffer a 1 in 100 year flood event, this will not happen again for another 99 years. It is probably better to use the type of probability language that is used in relation to winning the lottery i.e. you have a 1 in a million chance, but you have that same chance every time you play even if you've won recently. So there is a 1 in a 100 chance of flooding all the time, regardless of whether or not flooding has been experienced.

 

Adaptation and mitigation can often be confused and as mitigation is ‘easier’ to understand and implement, communities and individuals may think they are doing their bit by installing solar panels for example.  Of course the mitigation agenda is essential to minimise continued future climate change, but climate change is already happening and we need to prepare for the consequences.  However, it is also important that the adaptation message does not suggest that there is nothing that can be done to reduce future climate change impacts on communities.

 

 

Identify the local risks and who they will impact

 

  • Once the relevant organisations have been engaged and support obtained, identify the climate change impacts that are likely to affect your area and understand who is most likely to be affected. Identifying which communities are most vulnerable in relation to their ability to prepare for, respond to and recover from climate change can be undertaken using the framework on this website. It identifies specific environmental, personal and social characteristics that contribute to 'socio-spatial vulnerability' and combines these with indicators of potential exposure i.e. likelihood of flooding and increased heat in order to identify the most climate disadvantaged communities.
  • Many local authorities have produced Local Climate Impact Profiles (LCLIPs), which provide information on recent extreme weather events.  This is one of a number of complementary tools which support the process of adaptation planning identified in this resource.
  • Use the map tool to analyse vulnerability in your local area. The map tool provides this assessment for all local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales, enabling a detailed understanding of vulnerability at neighbourhood level. New data resources cover the present day and future scenarios for flood disadvantage. It is important to be aware that although the data for flood vulnerability and disadvantage have been refined in 2017, the data are still populated with national datasets, some on fairly broad scales, meaning that the results could be different to what is expected locally. The data provide an exceptionally useful resource, but should be used as a guide and framework from which more locally-specific issues can be taken into account through discussion with relevant stakeholders and the use of local data. Alternatively, the framework can be used but populated with local data, where it exists, supplemented by national data where only this is available.
  • It is important at this stage to involve local stakeholders representing a range of interests in the identification of impacts and how these may affect different communities. Interpretation is best informed by the communities themselves or  those who know the communities well and are aware of any plans that may already be in place to address climate change risks now and in the future. This exercise has been carried out in Wigan (original data) and Rochdale (new flood data) – see their case studies for learning from their use of the mapping tool and associated data. See also how this kind of work is supporting policy development in Newcastle and other parts of the UK in the case studies library and the case studies in the appendix to the 2017 Sayers and Partners assessment of Flood vulnerability, risk and disadvantage.

 

 

Identify the actions needed

 

Actions need to be identified which clearly address the likely impacts of specific climate events on individual communities. Local context is of utmost importance.

 

There are many useful sources of advice to help identify appropriate actions, such as the UKCIP website and Appendix IV of Socially Just Adaptation to Climate Change1, which provides a typology of adaptation practice and the social justice implications of each. Learning from others is also important and many case study examples of climate change adaptation action are provided again on the UKCIP website and others such as the National Flood Forum.

 

Climate change adaptation falls into two main activities: building adaptive capacity and undertaking adaptation actions.  

  • Building adaptive capacity includes developing the institutional capacity to respond effectively to climate change. This means ensuring that you have the information you need and creating any required standards or conditions to enable adaptation action. Building adaptive capacity can include obtaining and sharing information e.g. research and awareness raising, developing appropriate plans and strategies, changing internal systems and training, and working collaboratively with other organisations to reach a shared understanding on climate change impacts and required adaptation actions.

 

Developing the adaptation plan can be classed as building your adaptive capacity; the plan itself will include adaptation actions.  Some organisations may wish to develop specific climate change or adaptation plans; others may wish to incorporate their corporate commitment to climate change adaptation in service plans, risk assessments or business continuity plans as a type of cross-cutting theme. The latter approach is likely to ensure that adaptation is better embedded in all services. Actions should be manageable and realistic, and prioritised over the short, medium and long term related to the severity of impacts and their likelihood of occurring.

  • Delivering adaptation actions involves taking practical actions to either reduce vulnerability to climate risks, or to exploit positive opportunities and may range from simple low-tech solutions to large scale infrastructure projects. Examples include:
    • Accepting the impacts, and bearing the losses that result from those risks (e.g. managed retreat from sea level rise)
    • Off-setting losses by sharing or spreading the risks or losses (e.g. through insurance)
    • Avoiding or reducing exposure to climate risks (e.g. building new flood defences, or changing locations or activity)
    • Exploiting new opportunities (e.g. engaging in a new activity, or changing practices to take advantage of changing climatic conditions) (UKCIP).

 

Actions can be classed as high-regret, no-regret, low-regret and win-win. These relate to the degree to which adaptation actions support or conflict with other policy imperatives for example in relation to economic growth, environmental sustainability and social justice. 

  • High-regret actions have negative impacts for other agendas. For example, the building of major flood defences or re-direction of a river channel, which requires the reconfiguration of a neighbourhood, could cause social dislocation and make it more difficult for some residents to access crucial community infrastructure, such as their GP, or local community centre. This may introduce or increase existing health inequalities. 
  • No-regret actions possess no significant trade-offs with other objectives. The provision of increased shading in public places, such as the main shopping streets in urban areas, for example, is unlikely to have a negative impact on other environmental, economic or social objectives. More information about green infrastructure measures can be found here. Another example would be to include fixtures for shutters in building design for new residential buildings so that these can be added later without affecting the building fabric if overheating becomes an issue.
  • Low-regret actions are relatively low cost and have minimal impact on other agendas. Including the installation of flood doors or other Property Level Protection measures by a housing association as part of a planned refurbishment programme is a low cost solution which might be an example. More information about building adaptation measures can be found here.  Similarly incorporating training on climate change into training programmes for care staff, such as use of cooling techniques for heatwaves, could be considered a low-regret activity.
  • Win-win actions are positive both in terms of achieving adaptation and other agendas. Establishing a well-designed sustainable urban drainage scheme and urban landscaping project in a deprived area, for example, could assist in addressing multiple agendas. As well as supporting adaptation to climate change (such as through flood attenuation and increased tree coverage contributing to heat management), this could also assist with community cohesion through the provision of amenity and play areas, and help to improve the image of an area, so assisting with inward investment and overall economic growth. Another example would be the establishment of a local flood group which helps to integrate newly arrived residents into the local community through their involvement in events set up by the flood group, which in turn creates improved community cohesion.

 

Climate change preparedness requires a focus on the future as well as the present. While extreme events now are associated with weather, longer term changes in trends are related to the climate. Whilst the majority of local organisations have good emergency plans and procedures in place and are aware of the need to protect against flood risk and heatwaves that are evident now, it is important that policies, plans, service delivery and physical infrastructure are developed and implemented with an understanding of projected climate change impacts (and their differential impacts on specific communities) that may not be realised for some time. It is also important to consider the impact on future generations – failure to adapt now could have negative implications for the economy, the environment and society in the future. The map tool provides data on present day and future disadvantage for river/coastal and surface water flooding for England, Sotland and Wales.

 

There is a huge range of actions that can be undertaken dependent on the specific climate impacts, local characteristics and availability of resources. Common examples include measures such as:

  • The use of green or blue infrastructure to offset risks, e.g. the use of trees for shading new housing and helping to reduce temperatures, or use of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) to attenuate flood water
  • Installing back-up generators to provide power when lines are blown down by storms
  • The use of Property Level Protection (PLP) measures to help increase the resilience of individual properties to flooding
  • Ensuring appropriate ventilation in buildings, e.g. that all windows can be opened in social housing and care homes, to avoid over-heating and providing sufficient drinking water to residents at all times
  • Providing flood warning material in a range of media, including print (recognising that not everyone has access to the internet or mobile phones) and in different languages to ensure that all members of the local community receive and understand these warnings and their potential implications
  • Appointing flood wardens and training local people on access to and use of sandbags and other measures required in case of flood emergencies
  • Ensuring shaded areas in school playgrounds and holding PE lessons in shaded areas on very hot days
  • More innovative building design. Increasingly many innovative solutions are being used, for example Gwydyr View Lodge Park in Gwydyr Forest, Snowdonia is a small holiday park containing thirteen luxury wooden lodges. A number of the lodges were constructed with floatation systems underneath designed to help protect them from flooding. The systems allow the holiday homes to rise with floodwaters should flooding occur, therefore preventing the lodges and contents from being damaged.

More information can be found on the detailed pages on

 

Sometimes adaptation measures are put in place which do not take account of specific vulnerabilities or may exacerbate problems – the following table highlights approaches that can be taken to ensure that common adaptation measures maximise social justice2.

 

Adaptation Measure

Approaches to Improve Social Justice

Building Adaptive Capacity

Risk Assessments

Ensure risks for communities are taken into account considering broad concepts of social vulnerability, including people’s overall wellbeing and adaptive capacity as well as obvious personal characteristics, such as health status and risks for specific localities/buildings

Spatial Planning

Ensure inclusive consultation processes e.g. involving advocacy organisations to capture the views of hard-to-reach communities

Emergency Planning

Regular reviews of who is vulnerable in the community.

Improved communications systems and protocols when dealing with emergencies in order to keep vulnerable communities better informed and better able to respond.

Important to have a varied and non-age specific medium through which to communicate, and the route adopted should encourage engagement. Communication routes should be linked to trusted intermediaries to support communication with vulnerable groups.

Information provision

 

Innovative and multimedia/multi-language approaches important to capture wide audience, but print may be best for reaching some groups e.g. older people

Use of trusted intermediaries to directly speak to people is helpful.

Climate change adaptation tools

 

All tools should focus resources and actions on those communities that are most vulnerable to the negative effects of climate change.

Delivery of Adaptation Actions

Property Level Protection

 

Service providers to liaise with the Environment Agency regarding protection for individual properties/households to ensure that sufficient explanation is provided for the need for specific equipment and how to use it on a rolling basis (noting houses will change hands).

Appoint community champions to help vulnerable people with demountable forms of protection and provide general advice on both flooding and overheating.

Urban greening

 

Organisations considering such initiatives should contact civil society advocacy/service delivery organisations to encourage involvement of vulnerable communities in their planning, design, implementation and maintenance.

Building adaptations

 

Development of specific tailored actions is important rather than tailoring adaptations that are considered to be ‘accessible to all’ but may have detrimental effects for some vulnerable groups

Community-run initiatives

 

Ensure community planning is undertaken through an inclusive approach and with knowledge of all local communities likely to be vulnerable to climate change

Service delivery

 

Corporate commitment, mainstreaming and specific measures, such as all council reports having to identify their impacts for climate adaptation.

Table 1. Adaptative measures and the approaches that can be taken to improve social justice.

 

 

Identify delivery bodies and funding sources and deliver action

 

Once actions have been identified and agreed, it is important to clarify who will take forward implementation. Delivery bodies will vary depending on the specific issue, locality and community being addressed.  Funding sources should also be investigated which could range from public sources to private sector and individual contributions. Funding sources tend to change over time in relation to specific initiatives established by public bodies. Currently key sources of UK funding are through national governments and government agencies (flood risk management solutions including property level protection), lead local flood authorities (surface water flood risk management) and charities such as the Big Lottery Fund. Below are three examples focusing on the funding of schemes aimed at addressing extreme weather and climate change:

 

During the regeneration of Barking Riverside and Barking Town Centre, the Council worked closely with a range of local, regional and international partners to ensure wider access to support and funding avenues. Parties involved included: the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham (Regeneration & Economic Development), Bellway Homes, Environment Agency, Living Roofs, University of East London, Homes and Communities Agency. Designers were provided with technically sound, unambiguous guidelines of the Council’s requirements for SUDS and green roofs to be incorporated to help mitigate against flood and overheating risks. They also had access to Planning Policies, Consultations and Planning Advice Notes, including Green Roofs and Sustainable Design and Construction. The outcomes of the coordinated approach for this development were inclusion of green roofs, SUDS and adaptations to prevent impacts on residents from overheating, including an arboretum and light coloured granite paving.  

Funding from Defra was awarded in 2009 to create a Lincolnshire ‘Coastal Change Adaptation Pathfinder’ scheme. This scheme consisted of eight inter-linked projects to complement existing strategic initiatives, such as the Multi-Agency Flood Plan, the Lincolnshire Coastal Study and the Flood Risk Management Framework. The projects aimed to increase coastal communities’ awareness, understanding and preparedness for coastal change and improve partnership working. The following partners were involved in the scheme: Boston Borough Council, East Lindsey District Council, South Holland District Council, Environment Agency, Emergency Planning Unit and Internal Drainage Boards. These partners worked together to produce a consistent message for local communities about the risk of coastal flooding, with an agreed set of images easily recognisable by locals. A whole range of approaches were used to get the messages out including billboard displays, information packs and leaflets, magnets and refuse vehicles. The scheme has resulted in more than 1,200 properties signing up to receive flood warnings from Floodline Warnings Direct and a survey of local people highlighted that those who felt ‘quite’ or ‘very prepared’ for flooding increased from under 40% to almost 50%.   

 

 

Monitor effects and alter actions

 

Monitoring the impacts of actions is essential and should be supported by a feedback mechanism so that alterations can be made as required. Essentially it is important that the process of adaptation is itself adaptive. Therefore flexible solutions should be prioritised over those that are fixed, to ensure these can be adapted at a later point.

 

It can be helpful to identify trigger points so that if these are approached, adaptive action is taken. At a large scale, for example, this could mean identifying locations and scenarios which could require the introduction of large scale flood defences or actually moving communities to ensure they are not affected by coastal flooding. On a smaller scale heatwave information for a residential home may be updated if temperatures reach a particular level or property level protection measures could be upgraded if surface water flooding risk increases over time.

 

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References

  1. Brisley, R., Welstead, J., Hindle, R. and Paavola, J. (2012) Socially Just Adaptation to Climate Change Report for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
  2. Brisley, R., Welstead, J., Hindle, R. and Paavola, J. (2012) Socially Just Adaptation to Climate Change Report for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

 

 

 

Develop a climate change adaptation plan in conjunction with relevant partner organisations and involve those communities most likely to be affected

 

  1. This is easiest developed in a step by step process:

  1. Get started: identify the appropriate organisations/individuals to be involved – remember those least interested (whether across local authority departments or hard to reach communities) are often those whose involvement is most important.
  2. Increase awareness of climate change adaptation: within your local authority, organisation and community, especially vulnerable communities and the groups working with them.
  3. Identify the local situation: using existing tools such as a LCLIP or the ClimateJust resources.
  4. Identify who will be impacted: using the data in the ClimateJust map tool supplemented with local knowledge – local context is of key importance and should be used to refine the national analysis provided.
  5. Identify the action needed: which will best address the risks using existing tools and examples from elsewhere.
  6. Identify success criteria and identify appropriate metrics. Success criteria should relate directly to the risks being addressed and the vulnerability of the communities involved. Examples include: having an established community plan in place and identified community champions that local people know they can go to for advice and support; including climate change resilience as a corporate commitment; reducing the incidence of overheating in care homes; or increasing the resilience of a number of properties known to be at flood risk through the installation of Property Level Protection.
  7. Deliver actions: involving the communities that are affected throughout the process to support and improve their resilience.
  8. Monitor effects and alter actions: adaptation should be adaptive; that is, capable of being adapted in the future as climate risks become more certain and/or additional research and information is available. Monitoring should be a ‘real time’ continuous process that starts as soon as delivery commences so that actions can be adapted over time as required.

 

  1. Throughout the climate change adaptation process, the following principles are important to help ensure that adaptation will be effective in meeting the needs and increasing the resilience of those communities that are most vulnerable:
  • The responsibility for adapting to climate change should be embedded across local authority departments and within other local organisations - climate change is not just an environmental issue, but has major economic and social impacts.
  • Climate change impacts will be context-specific and the development of actions and mode of delivery should be tailored to the needs of specific localities and specific communities that are most vulnerable to its impacts.
  • Climate change adaptation needs to be communicated appropriately to ensure it is relevant to the target audience and understood to be the responsibility of everyone not just those with climate change in their job title. This also involves targeted engagement with vulnerable groups that may be less willing or able to participate to ensure that their views are heard and taken into account.
  • Climate change adaptation actions need to be flexible and have the potential to be adapted in the future as the effects of their delivery are realised and more information is available regarding the impacts of future climate change.
  • Learning from others is essential to provide cost-effective solutions that avoid re-inventing the wheel and minimise problems.

 

 

 


On this page:

 


Tools and Resources

   

Name

Developer

Type of Resource

Legal Rights and Duties relating to flooding for property owners

Covers the legal framework, frequently asked questions and a set of further resources to help with raising awareness.

UK Environmental Law Association (UKELA)

Online summary of points of environmental law

Adaptation Wizard

Step by step guide to adaptation planning

UKCIP

Toolkit

Community Flood Plan Template

Template for establishing a community flood plan

Environment Agency

Plan Template

Flood Action Groups

Guidance on how to form a flood action group

National Flood Forum

Guidance

Green Roofs: sustainability briefing

Guidance on what green roofs are, why use them and how they

are constructed

Institution of Structural Engineers

Guidance

LCLIP: Local Climate Impacts Profile

Tool showing how to understand the local climate based on historical information and events

UKCIP

Tool

Planning for Climate Change - Guidance and model policies for local authorities

 

TCPA

Guidance and model policies

Overheating in homes

Evidence and guidance highlighting risks from energy efficiency of overheating and measures to overcome this. Also see later report with the findings of a two year study, The Big Picture.

Zero Carbon Hub

Research and Guidance

Ready for flooding - before, during, after

Information on how to identify if properties are at risk of flooding, how to increase resilience to flooding and what action to take if flooding occurs

National Flood Forum

Guidance

Flooding and Coastal Change – Resources for England

Portal containing information on sources of information for different groups in Scotland.

Environment Agency and Government Departments

Resources

Flooding - Resources and Research for Scotland

Portal containing information on sources of information for different groups in Scotland.

Scottish Government (2018)

Resources

Wales Resilience

Risks We Face / Y risgiau. Online document on risks in Wales and sources of information to help communities with various risks, including severe weather and flooding

Wales Resilience Forum and the Local Resilience Forums of North Wales, South Wales, Dyfed-Powys and Gwent.

Resources

Development Advice Map (DAM)

Tool to assist with the identification of areas at risk of flooding for the purposes of land-use planning in Wales. Part of a wider geoportal.

Natural Resources Wales

Map tool

Adaptation Scotland Tools and Resource web pages

A set of resources together with a guiding process aimed at a range of audiences including the public sector, businesses and communities to help support adaptation and building resilience. Tools can be searched according to sector, stage and resource type.

Adaptation Scotland

Resource pack/compilation

Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange (CAKE) 

A set of resources for local action with a global reach. It covers case studies, tools and a Don’t Panic guide to getting started on your Adaptation Journey.

EcoAdapt and Island Press

Resource pack/compilation

UKCP18 Projections

The UKCP18 project will update the UKCP09 projections over UK land areas and update UKCP09 projections of sea-level rise, giving greater regional detail, further analysis of the risks we face, both nationally and globally, and provide more information on potential extremes and impacts of climate change.

UKCP18

Data and mapping

Resource Map

Map provide links to over 300 free resourcesfrom policy guidance, to case-studies, toolkits, presentations and fact-sheets

CLASP (2011)

Signposting to various

Set up a community group

General information on issues that need to be considered in setting up a community group – not climate change specific

Brighter Futures Together

Guidance

Sustainable communities

Tools, advice and guidance to address the sustainability of communities, and to independently certify the sustainability of planning proposals

BRE

Various resources

Tools, guides and reports

Tools, guides and reports to help businesses and public sector organisations address climate change and harness the economic benefits from the move to a low-carbon economy

Carbon Trust

Further Information

Reports

 

 

UK Climate Change Risk Assessment 2017

Official assessment of climate change risks in the UK.

Defra

Report

UK Climate Change Risk Assessment 2017 Evidence Report & Synthesis

Independent assessment covering natural environment, infrastructure, people and the built environment, Business and industry and international dimensions.

Committee on Climate Change

Report

National Flood Resilience Review

Information on methods for assessing flood risk, adapting and enhancing resilience.

HM Government (2016)

Review

Studies and Reports on Flood Risk

Compilation of information on changing flood risk in Wales and the UK more widely

Welsh Government (2018) 

 

Resources

Climate change and communities

Evidence and research to help develop practical solutions for communities facing the consequences of climate change in the UK

Joseph Rowntree Foundation

Website with links to publications

Reports and Research

Information about current projects and recent reports from the TCPA on climate related themes. Separate pages are available on social justice issues.

Town and Country Planning Association

Website with links to materials

Case Studies

 

 

Green infrastructure Resource Library

Open access resources including videos, tools and case studies

TCPA

Online resources

Green infrastructure case studies from across the UK: fact sheet summaries of a range of different interventions in urban and rural areas

Natural England (archived content)

Set of online case studies