The Climate Change Committee (CCC) has written a letter addressed to the Government warning that the UK should prepare for climate change above the Paris Agreement, saying planning should be, at a minimum, for the weather extremes that will be experienced if global warming levels reach 2C above preindustrial levels by 2050.

The letter states that: “It is clear we are not yet adapted for the changes in weather and climate that we are living with today, let alone those that are expected over coming decades.”

Both social and economic effects should be considered as a matter of urgency, the letter adds, and adaptations have clearly measurable and time-bound targets, with explicit delivery accountability for Government departments (that might be an ask though).

Areas that should be included are people’s health and wellbeing, food security, resilience of key infrastructure systems and key public services.

Also that economic growth is climate-resilient and access to key business and financial services, such as insurance, is maintained.

The letter however leaves the “level of ambition within adaptation objectives” for the Government to decide, whilst the CCC will provide a further analysis of the trade-offs involved in its Well-Adapted UK report, which will be published in May 2026.

The CCC notes that faster rates of warming between now and 2050 remain possible, and additional warming beyond 2050 is currently expected with a high end of possibilities, reaching 4C above preindustrial levels by the end-of-century.

---