National Adaption Programme: CIWEM’s priorities for the second cycle

National Adaption Programme

In the summer of 2018, following advice in 2017 by the Committee on Climate Change, the Government will publish its second National Adaption Programme (NAP) under the Climate Change Act 2008. This will set out how England plans to adapt and increase resilience to the impacts of climate change over the next five years.

This document briefly reviews the first NAP and sets out CIWEM’s view on what the second cycle must include to be a strategic and effective programme for climate change adaptation. Greenhouse gas emissions to date mean that effective climate change adaptation strategies are needed to complement efforts at mitigation. Adaption aims to reduce society and the environment’s vulnerability to climate change that is already happening which will occur in the future. 2016 was the warmest year on record.

Record rainfalls fell across England in December 2015. 2017 was the hottest year without El Niño since global records began. The risks caused by climate change are increasing.