Labour has made no progress on climate adaptation since gaining power, CCC claims

Labour has made no progress in addressing the risks of extreme weather caused by climate change since entering government, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) has said.

The government’s statutory climate advisor called for more resources for climate adaptation planning as it warned the UK is still not appropriately prepared for an increase of heat waves, heavy rainfall and wildfires over the coming years.

The CCC’s adaptation committee, which is required to report on the UK’s progress on climate adaptation every two years, published its latest report today.

It said the “vast majority” of the assessment outcomes for the 2025 report share the same low scores as in 2023, with the committee finding “no evidence” to score a single outcome for adaptation delivery as “good”.

“Notably, there has been no change in addressing this risk with the change in Government,” the report added.

The report found 6.3 million properties in England are in areas at risk of flooding from rivers, the sea, and surface water, a number which is predicted to rise to around 8 million, or one in four, by 2050.

Over a third of railway and road kilometres are currently at flood risk, predicted to rise to around half by 2050, according to the report, with rail systems and power lines also at risk from extreme heat.

CCC chair Julia King said: “We have seen in the last couple of years that the country is not prepared for the impacts of climate change. We know there is worse to come, and we are not ready, indeed in many areas we are not even planning to be ready. The threat is greatest for the most vulnerable: we do not have resilient hospitals, schools, or care homes. Public and private institutions alike are unprepared.

“We can see our country changing before our eyes. People are having to cope with more regular extreme weather impacts. People are experiencing increasing food prices. People are worried about vulnerable family members during heatwaves.

“Ineffective and outdated ways of working within Government are holding back the country’s ability to be future-fit. Is this Government going to face up to the reality of our situation? Failing to act will impact every family and every person in the country.”

The report coincides with an intervention yesterday from Tony Blair, who has called for a new approach to net zero as he argued government policies on limiting fossil fuels were “doomed to fail”.

The former prime minister said the debate on climate change had become “irrational” and people were no longer prepared to make financial sacrifices and changes in lifestyle that would have “minimal” effect on global emissions.

Blair also said in a report by the Tony Blair Institute that a backlash against net zero policies threatened to “derail the whole agenda” as global demand for fossil fuels and airline travel continues to increase over the next 20 years.

The report calls for more focus on emerging technologies such as carbon capture and storage and nuclear fusion, and a coordinated international effort to persuade the world’s biggest economies, such as China and India, to cut their emissions.

Environment secretary Steve Reed said Blair had made “a valid and important contribution” to the climate change debate.

Speaking on Times Radio this morning, Reed said: “I agree with much of what he said, but not absolutely every word and dot and comma of it.

“But this government is moving to clean energy because it’s best for Britain. It’s more energy security for Britain.”

Weather forecasters have predicted a spring heatwave in the UK, expected to peak tomorrow with temperatures of 29 degrees in London, could result in the hottest start to May on record.