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

3.7
3.8
action 1 encourages Member States and EU institutions to take a more strategic approach to climate
adaptation that will foster good communication and the sharing of best practice. Commission
President Barroso recently announced that he would launch an initiative to enable the EU to
anticipate the changes which need to be made to cope with climate change and he has asked
the new Commissioner-designate for Climate Change to ensure adaptation is addressed in all
Community policies. 2
In 2007 a duty to adapt to climate change was placed on the Mayor of London and the London
Assembly. This amendment to the Greater London Authority Act 1999 imposes a duty on them
to “address climate change”. That duty is spelled out further by requiring the Mayor and London
Assembly to “take action” with a view to mitigation of, or adaptation to, climate change. In
exercising that duty, the Mayor and London Assembly are each required to take into account
Government policies on those subjects, and to have regard to any guidance published by the
Secretary of State. The Mayor is also required to prepare and publish an Adaptation to Climate
Change Strategy for London.
In the UK more generally, the Climate Change Act 2008 and the Climate Change (Scotland) Act
2009 provide a statutory framework for planning and implementing adaptation. Box 3A describes
the main provisions of these Acts. A key provision of the 2008 Act was the establishment of
the Adaptation Sub-Committee (ASC) of the Committee on Climate Change. The ASC has
interpreted its statutory remit broadly, and describes its role as “to advise on the development
of a UK Climate Change Risk Assessment, i to assess the preparedness of the UK to meet the
risks and opportunities arising from climate change, and to promote effective actions to adapt to
climate change by society as a whole”. 3
BOX 3A THE CLIMATE CHANGE ACT 2008 AND THE CLIMATE CHANGE
(SCOTLAND) ACT 2009
The Climate Change Act 2008 (the UK Act) received Royal Assent on 26 November 2008. The
Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 (the Scottish Act) received Royal Assent on 4 August
2009. Both Acts contain provisions on climate change adaptation. 4
The UK Act provides for the establishment of an Adaptation Sub-Committee (ASC) of the
Committee on Climate Change to provide advice to the Government, and upon request to
UK national authorities, on adaptation to climate change. The ASC is chaired by Lord Krebs
and consists of nine members. 5 The Scottish Act provides for the possible establishment of a
Scottish equivalent to the UK Committee on Climate Change, which would be known as the
Scottish Committee on Climate Change.
The Government is to conduct a Climate Change Risk Assessment for the whole of the UK,
with the first assessment due in January 2012 and subsequent assessments to be published
every five years after that. Both the UK and Scottish governments, as well as the relevant
Northern Ireland department, are required to prepare programmes setting out their objectives,
proposals and policies in relation to adaptation. The Scottish Act also provides that Scotland’s
adaptation programme must set out arrangements for involving employers, trade unions and
other stakeholders in meeting programme objectives, as well as the mechanisms for ensuring
public engagement in the process.
i The Climate Change Risk Assessment is “the report on the impact of climate change” referred to in Section 56 of
the Climate Change Act 2008.
35
Chapter 3