Summary

Our climate is changing. Summers will become hotter and drier, winters milder and wetter and extreme storms, rainfall and wind will become more frequent. This will likely result in increased risks to both existing and new building stock, including overheating of buildings, damage to property from flooding and storms, as well as increased impact from the urban heat island effect.

The Climate Change Act 2008 set out provisions for climate change adaptation and mitigation, including establishing a Committee on Climate Change, regular 5-year climate change risk assessments and a national adaptation programme. At the national, regional and local level, subsequent planning provisions have been designed to avoid increased vulnerability to the range of impacts arising from climate change.

Adaptation needs arise when the anticipated risks or experienced impacts of climate change require action to ensure the safety of people and the security of assets. Planning for adaptation and mitigation needs to occur following a risk-based approach of identifying the climate hazards specific to a particular location, what risks those hazards present to a particular building or development and the management of the identified risks through adaptation or mitigation measures. Climate change also poses a significant threat to the existing building stock and a long-term programme of upgrading and retrofitting is required in order to mitigate the ‘locked in’ risks to those assets.