Climate change is already being felt across the UK, with increasing impacts on people’s lives and the economy. With it now expected that global warming levels will exceed 1.5ºC1 in the next ten years, the need to adapt is urgent.
Ahead of 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) last November, the Council for Science and Technology (CST) wrote to the Prime Minister making the case for coordinated climate adaptation action.
CST’s recommendationsThe Council provided four clear recommendations for government. These focus on measurable targets, better risk monitoring, and clarity about the choices and trade-offs that climate adaptation will require. CST recommended:
Clear departmental accountability for adaptation. No.10 and Cabinet Office (CO) should ensure that every department is working to clear, measurable goals on climate adaptation. A shared and evidenced picture of climate risk and adaptation impact. CO should commission a spatial dashboard to bring together data on climate risks and impacts over time, to help decision makers test different scenarios and use the evidence to guide policy choices. Communication of inevitable trade-offs. There will be some choices to be made. No.10 should define and communicate residual risks relating to climate change and how they will be managed. Communication and leadership are critical for success. No.10 should lead communication of climate change impacts, necessary action and challenges.You can read CST's recommendations in full here.
Climate resilience panel eventFollowing this advice, CST led a panel event on 25 February 2026 with the Foundation for Science and Technology (FST). The event brought together scientists, government and wider stakeholders to discuss these recommendations. You can watch the full recording of the event on FST’s website.
Panel members noted that the importance of climate adaptation for the UK’s resilience has long been recognised. Since the UK’s Climate Change Act in 2008, the UK has implemented several adaptation policies and guidance. These include significant investment in flood risk management, reforms to building regulations, commitments to new reservoirs as well as action on water demand and leakage.
However, despite these positive interventions, Professor Jim Hall (Professor of Climate and Environmental Risks at the University of Cambridge and CST member) shared his view that challenges around measuring progress, fragmented responsibilities, and the many competing priorities in government and beyond have led to adaptation slipping down the agenda. This is why CST’s recommendations were developed now and why they are so important.
Professor Mike Tipton (Extreme Environments Lab, University of Portsmouth & President of The Physiological Society) emphasised the importance of the impacts of climate change on the human body. He highlighted that adaptation policies must take account of how the human body responds to environmental stress, such as heat, air pollution, and extreme events. Understanding these physiological limits is essential both for designing effective policies and for engaging the public.
Panellists stressed that adaptation is essential alongside continued action to reduce the carbon emissions that are driving climate change. They reiterated the points made in the CST advice, that clear leadership and coordination from the centre of government are needed to support effective delivery.
Since the event, CST has continued to work with government on implementation of these recommendations, advising on introducing specific and measurable climate adaptation targets and a spatial dashboard to inform policy and spending decisions. CST looks forward to continuing this engagement following the recent publication of the Fourth Climate Change Risk Assessment – Independent Assessment (CCRA4-IA).
The Climate Change Committee, The Seventh Carbon Budget - Climate Change Committee, (February 2025). ↩︎ seen at 10:30, 20 August in Council for Science and Technology.