London scoping - ukcip

Final Report
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• Business costs could rise substantially due to rising costs of insurance for
developments at risk from flooding and storm damage. One response could be to
ensure that developments were designed and constructed to withstand potential
climate change impacts.
All the above points to a need to consider the potential impacts of climate change on the present
and future economy of London. As London represents a significant proportion of the UK’s
economic activity and hence has wide reaching influences, it is doubly important that serious
consideration is given to potential climate change impacts and that these form part of the
London economic development strategy. As has already been discussed there could be
significant opportunities for economic development in emerging sectors such as the
environmental industries sector and other more established sectors of the London economy such
as tourism. Studies are already being undertaken to asses the potential of environmental
industries in London and the South East and what support would be required to nurture their
growth. The Environment Agency
The Environment Agency (EA) is responsible for environmental regulation and related issues.
The following comments are based on discussions with Agency staff. The issues of particular
relevance to consideration of climate change impacts include:
Water Resources
• The EA has produced a Water Resources Strategy for the Thames Region that
includes London. It states that a high proportion (55%) of the effective annual
rainfall is already used for water supply. 86% of this is for public water supply.
• The supply-demand balance in London is in deficit at present by approximately
180Ml/d. Using the rising groundwater in London as a resource could supply 30-
50Ml/d but other schemes could help bridge the gap. Water resource management
measures are essential to deal with both demand increase and some of the potential
impacts of climate change. Sustainable management of water on London includes
such measures as urban drainage, rainwater re-use, metering, tariff development,
leakage control, water conservation in private households (low flush/dual flush
toilets, water butts, grey-water use), water re-cycling in industry, re-use of water in
climate control systems and pressure and flow management of taps in commercial
premises.
• Without further action to manage demand and reduce leakage, new strategic water
resources may be required under certain scenarios by 2020 for London. Metering
and new, innovative tariffs will be essential to manage the pressures and costs of
water and protecting the environment if, and when, climate change impacts start to
take effect.
• The Thames Region Water Resources strategy used a range of scenarios that
included potential climate change, to inform the development of the strategy.
However, more work needs to be done to consider the impacts at the catchment
level. The EA is developing Catchment Abstraction Management Strategies to
assess the total amount of water available in a catchment and develop a strategic
plan for supply and demand. Another process - the “Restoring Sustainable
Abstraction” programme is assessing other ways of obtaining water for supplying
needs in particular areas. Both of these processes should be informed by the