National

Adaptation

Strategies - UK21 March 2005

Andy Deacon

Global Atmosphere

Division

Outline

• What is needed?Building adaptive capacity

Tools and understandingDelivering Adaptation Action

Experience of adaptation in practice

• Next Steps

UKCIP toolkitGuidance• Risk and uncertainty in decision

making: “Climate adaptation: Risk, uncertainty and decision-making”

• Costing the impacts of climate change

• Handling uncertainty in climate scenarios

Scenarios• UKCIP02 climate change scenarios• Socio-economic scenariosWeb-based tools (in development)• Adaptation Wizard: How to use all

UKCIP resources in planning for adaptation

• Adaptation case studies: Examples of adaptation being implemented in the UK

Climate adaptation: risk, uncertainty & decision-making (UKCIP 2003)

Main drivers behind decision

Criteria for Stage 5 – legislation, risk attitude, thresholds

Tiered risk assessment – climate and non-climate factors

No-regret, low-regret, win-win optionsFlexible optionsDelay/Do nothing?

Evaluate against Stage 2 criteria

Bring info togetherFinal checks

Is climate change a risk to project, programme, agency,etc ?

UKCIP Adaptation Wizard

Climate Change Proofing• Climate change proofing within

Defra• Risk-based & identifies priorities

for early action :• Long-term investment and

infrastructure decisions• Long-term policies and

regulation• Contingency planning• Win-wins• Evidence base• Stakeholders

• Work within other government Departments

What is needed (1):Adaptation Policy Framework

Purpose :

Set objectives and measure progress

• Provide structure

• for policies and measures

• for different actors (regional, local)

• Communication

• Longer term view

What is needed (2):Better understanding at regional scale

• Regional research in the UK, 2004–06• To inform regional decision-making and

help target effective adaptation responses

• Six priority topics, identified by stakeholders:• Planning, land-use and the built

environment• Business• Water• Countryside and the rural economy• Quantifying the costs• Guidelines for adaptation strategies

What is needed (3):Guidelines for adaptation

• Project underway to explore what adaptation means in practice to date

• Two tasks:• inventory of adaptation options

and strategies at different scales in the UK, from individual companies, to sectoral responses

• assessment of • (a) why these options and

strategies were formulated, and

• (b) how they relate to other options and strategies

Next Steps

• Adaptation in practice project report

• UKCIP Integration report

• Synthesis report on impacts of climate on Central Government Departments

• Work on indicators and targets for adaptation

• Adaptation Policy Framework - before end 2005