UK’s NAP3 climate plan criticised for lack of ambition

Under the 2008 Climate Change Act (CCA), the government is required to complete a Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA) every five years, followed by a NAP setting out how the government will address the risks identified in the CCRA. Measures outlined in the latest NAP include the establishment of a new UK Health Security Agency Adverse Weather & Health Plan, a Local Authority Climate Service, and a Climate Resilience Board composed of senior government officials.

The government claims it is already investing billions in adaptation measures, including £5.2bn in flood and coastal schemes in England, over £750m for the Nature for Climate Fund and £80m for the Green Recovery Challenge Fund, aimed at creating jobs in nature recovery and conservation. Despite the government hailing NAP3 as a ‘step-change’ in the UK’s approach to climate adaptation, academics and scientists have been roundly critical of NAP3 for its lack of ambition as the effects of climate change become increasingly apparent.