Environmental Essay no.29 – Adapting to the Climate of the Future

Adapting to the Climate of the Future

What do they do in other countries?

Several other EU countries are beginning to take account of the changing climate.

For instance the Netherlands, Germany and Austria have prepared action plans relating to storm surge. Greece, Spain and Italy have prepared action plans on drought. Finally, the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Sweden and Finland have – to a varying degree – integrated the question of adaptation to climate change in their aid to developing countries.

Moreover, the UK has prepared a national strategy for adaptation to the climate of the future.

The strategy forms part of the climate programme adopted by the British Government in November 2000, focussing on measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as to adapt to a changed climate.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is coordinating climate policy in the UK, cooperating closely with a number of other ministries and agencies involved.

In 1997 the UK Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP) was established, based at the University of Oxford. UKCIP supports organisations or authorities and other stakeholders responsible for planning and development of infrastructure and contingency. They also help preparing strategies for adaptation in specific areas.

Identification of priority areas
On the basis of UKCIP work and an independent report from Environmental Resources Management (ERM, 2000) the UK climate programme identifies areas where adaptation to a changing climate is particularly important over the next 30 years.

The areas identified so far are: management of water resources, measures against storm surge, impacts on buildings and other infrastructure. Also areas like tourism, biological diversity and planning are being considered.