Five-year National Adaptation Programme to combat the climate crisis is disappointing and won't adequately protect wildlife, habitats, homes and livelihoods.
Almost a year on from the heatwave of 2022, when temperatures surpassed 40°C for the first time in the UK, the UK Government is once again failing to take authoritative action on the climate emergency.
The UK Government’s third National Adaptation Programme (NAP) was released on Monday, after it was leaked to The Guardian. Defra is required by law to produce a NAP every five years. It's a key opportunity for the government to take bold action and set out how the country will tackle climate change over the following five years.
In March, the government’s official advisers, the UK Climate Change Committee (CCC), said this year’s NAP would be a “make-or-break moment” and highlighted that “the country is strikingly unprepared” for climate change.
Biodiversity loss, heatwaves, droughts, floods and storms. It’s all intensifying, threatening both the wildlife we have left, as well as our homes and livelihoods.
And yet, the UK Government’s latest NAP fails to go far enough to tackle climate change. It’s been widely criticised for re-announcing existing commitments from other plans, such as the Environment Act.
As for nature-based solutions, which NGOs have been championing for some time, the programme fails to outline what actions will be taken by Government to realise their full potential. Delivering high quality nature-based solutions would benefit our – and nature’s - adaptation to the effects of a changing climate.
After another summer of soaring temperatures, water shortages and wildfires, this latest programme is another blow. Warm words are not enough from our leaders.
Beth Chamberlain, RSPB Senior Policy Officer said: “Recent headlines have been filled with climate change-induced heatwaves and droughts, and yet the Government has not heeded their warnings: climate change is here and we must adapt, fast. There has never been a more critical moment for ambitious action, and yet today’s National Adaptation Programme falls short of delivering a step change in how we will adapt to climate change across the country over the coming five years.
When nature itself is restored and supported in adapting to the pressures of climate change, high-quality nature-based solutions can help protect homes, businesses and livelihoods, and deliver for climate. The next five years will be crucial, and we urge the Government to ensure that nature’s role in underpinning our response to climate change is embedded into ambitious delivery and implementation of the National Adaptation Programme.”
Nature is amazing. It has the power to store carbon, help prevent flooding, and safeguard communities’ way of life. And all this while creating amazing havens for wildlife, which people can enjoy.
Healthy peatlands help to slow the flow of water during storms, while urban trees cool our towns and cities, and salt marshes buffer our coastlines from sea-level rise.
The benefits of nature-based solutions are not restricted to climate and nature. Investing in nature can bring jobs to the places that need them most. Protecting the environment well in the first place is far more cost-effective than dealing with problems further down the line and trying to retrofit measures.
Over the next century, if we restore and create new UK peatlands, salt marshes and woodlands, the estimated savings and benefits are £176 billion. We can’t afford not to invest in nature.
Whilst Government may be lacking the urgency needed to help us adapt, UK NGOs are already acting. The RSPB, the Wildlife Trusts, the National Trust, the Woodland Trust and Friends of the Earth, are already making progress.
We’re working with nature to help tackle climate change across our nature reserves, and the results are astonishing.
Restoration of 183 hectares of coastal wetlands at Medmerry now provides carbon storage, restores a rich wetland habitat, and offers vital protection to coastal communities and nationally important species.
Our Wallasea Island Wild Coast Project in Essex is an incredible example of habitat re-creation, which pioneered working with businesses to restore the saltmarshes and help local people adapt to rising sea levels.
Rewetting and restoring peat bogs is a vital step to prevent damaged peat acting as a carbon source rather than a carbon sink. Healthy peatlands provide crucial habitats, restoring biodiversity and bringing economic value.
Enhancing native woodlands by sticking to the principle of ‘right tree, right place’ has multiple benefits for wildlife. It also connects local communities, and makes the land more adaptable to climatic change.
Natural flood management protects communities from flood risks as the impacts of extreme weather events worsen, whilst providing spaces for wildlife to thrive and for communities to access nature.
These projects demonstrate what is possible if we unleash nature’s potential. You can read more about each of these inspiring nature-based solutions here.
We have called for the Government to:
The response is disappointing, but the focus will now turn to implementing the NAP, and we must see those responsible for delivery take every opportunity to maximise the benefits for climate, nature and people, as supported by research and monitoring.
If we’re to secure a future for nature and for ourselves, we need our leaders to lead us now.
