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

Appendix A
ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE STUDY AND
INVITATION TO SUBMIT EVIDENCE
A1 ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE STUDY
The Royal Commission study on adapting institutions to climate change was announced in a news
release on 19 October 2007 in the following terms. Nearly 200 organisations were invited to respond to
issues described below, and around 80 responses were received.
ROYAL COMMISSION STUDY ON ADAPTING INSTITUTIONS TO
CLIMATE CHANGE
The next study by the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution will address the question of how
UK institutions can adapt to climate change.
Following a very positive response to the shortlist the Royal Commission published in July this year, the
decision was made to undertake a study on Adapting the UK to Climate Change. The comments received
on the shortlist were substantial and the Royal Commission is grateful to all those organisations and
individuals that took the time to share their views. Having carefully considered all of the responses, the
Royal Commission noted that there was significant support for climate adaptation and has decided that
this is the most appropriate topic for the next major study. Most of the other topics on the shortlist will
be kept on the list for consideration for possible future study.
BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Climate change is unavoidable. To date, the principal focus on climate change has been on reducing
greenhouse gas emissions, with considerable political effort focused on what the targets and mechanisms
for reductions should be.
Identifying what adaptive measures to take is not immediately obvious. Adaptation should be conducted
in concert with mitigation strategies and should, insofar as it is possible, be done in a way that minimises
any unintended consequences. It is unlikely that there is a single set of answers, but there needs to be
analysis of what the options are to prepare for the future.
The Stern review set a very clear benchmark for the costs of climate change and more importantly the
costs of adapting to future events. The need for adaptation is becoming recognised, and features in the
draft Climate Change Bill that Defra is driving forward, which proposes that there should be regular
reporting by Government to Parliament on adaptation policies.
The Defra England Biodiversity Strategy is focused on adaptation to climate change, and provides a
useful look at how biodiversity could be affected and approaches that can be taken to best adapt to
these changes. Events such as habitat loss, species migration and changes of land use are all likely to
occur, and actions to address these need to be understood as part of the complex system that is the
UK environment.
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