London scoping - ukcip

Final Report
145
Whilst climate change is, potentially, an opportunity for the built environment and
redevelopment (or at least can be tackled through use of natural ventilation) in
other parts of the UK, it is more difficult (whilst not impossible) to see the ‘silver
lining’ in the case of London. This is because of the higher baseline temperature in
London, the urban heat island effect and the very high pressure for new housing
and new commercial development.
The draft London Plan argues that it is most appropriate to compare London to
other global cities such as New York, Tokyo, Paris, Berlin and so on. The very
preliminary comparison of climate change impacts in Tokyo and New York,
suggests that the adverse effects in those competitor cities would be slighter greater
than in London, at least in the current socio-economic conditions.
Impacts upon other comparative European cities have not been evaluated. London
starts from a cooler climatic baseline than most continental cities, however, and
will continue to be cooler than cities further south in a situation of climate change.
Provided that necessary adaptations can take place, then London will perhaps fare
better under future climate change than competitor cities in many other parts of
central and southern Europe.
The most robust conclusion to draw is that a preliminary comparison between
competitor cities indicates that London does not face any significantly greater
adverse or beneficial impacts than other cities. A more robust comparison between
impacts on global cities is an important future research task.