Twenty-eighth Report Adapting Institutions to Climate Change Cm ...

Chapter 5
5.7
5.8
5.9
5.10
In contrast to mitigation, where the challenge is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, there is no
predefined blueprint, end-point or programme for adaptation. This report is not about the myriad
of practical actions which will be required. Instead, our recommendations aim to assist in building
institutional capacity to address vulnerability to a climate which is both changing and becoming
more variable. The point is not to identify short-term fixes which might seem appropriate now,
but to seek to ensure that all institutions are equipped to respond to the changing and uncertain
demands of adaptation. The nature of the task of building adaptive capacity will vary according
to context. In this sense, adaptation is intensely local.
We have chosen to focus our investigations on three exemplars, but the lessons we have learned
extend much more broadly, and many of the recommendations apply across government
departments and agencies, rather than simply to those concerned with freshwater, coasts and
biodiversity. Furthermore, while our recommendations are directed primarily at governments and
public sector agencies, many are also relevant to private sector organisations. In all cases, it is our
view that urgent and purposeful action is required to ensure that adaptation is embedded in all
aspects of institutional design and operation.
Given the potentially large number of actions that may need to be taken to adapt, it will not
always be easy to decide what to do first and what can be left until later. It may sometimes be
appropriate to prioritise policies which, though designed to deal with a particular aspect of the
adaptation challenge, also contribute to the attainment of other goals. Terms such as ‘no regret’
or ‘win–win’ (generally involving multiple benefits) are often used to describe such actions. For
example, creating migration pathways to allow animals to move as the climate changes as an
adaptation response can also create recreational opportunities for activities such as walking or
cycling, and creating new wetland can both help buffer water supply and provide new habitats
for species – both of which contribute to adaptation. In some cases it is possible to take actions
which will contribute to both mitigation and adaptation. But building adaptive capacity and,
especially, taking specific adaptation actions will in virtually all cases have a net cost, even if the
actions can be described as ‘no regret’ or ‘win–win’ – though in many cases the benefits may be
multiple and substantial.
We set out in the following paragraphs recommendations intended to help organisations to address
adaptation. In summary, organisations will need to ensure that their policies and programmes
address, and reduce, vulnerability to climate change, and exploit opportunities to increase resilience.
We present first a series of cross-cutting recommendations, aimed at ensuring that policies and
programmes address adaptation. We believe this can be achieved by introducing an ‘adaptation
test’, backed up by new duties on public bodies to address adaptation and by arrangements
for monitoring progress. Second, we make more specific recommendations flowing from our
examination of current institutional arrangements. Third, we consider measures to ensure that
we have the information, tools, skills and resources required. Fourth, we consider the important
issue of equity. Finally, we address issues of public engagement. Adaptation may appear a technical
issue, but the choices we face are far from merely technical – the discussion of equity in Chapter 4
(4.29-4.35) is one example.
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