The CCC shifts focus from ‘risk’ to ‘adaptation’, forgetting ‘fairness’

As people in homes and communities across the UK experience dramatic, escalating and now inevitable climate change, we need more than an awareness of risks; we need policies and plans that support widespread participation in climate adaptation. This must be more than words; practical advice and guidance must recognise the deep impacts we experience across all areas of life – particularly considering our poorest and most vulnerable people. This is a conversation about justice and fairness. 

In this context, the Climate Change Committee’s (CCC) latest report, A Well Adapted UK, was a timely if stark read, and a marked shift from previous reports. It refocuses from risks to adaptation, acknowledging the limited progress that has been made in preparing ourselves for the impacts of climate change, and putting forward recommendations for how people in UK households and communities adapt to and manage the dramatic change in climate that is now, sadly, both escalating and inevitable. 

Where climate adaptation is typically thought of as large-scale infrastructural and technological solutions (think building new flood defences or introducing drought-resistant crops), this report firmly positions households and communities – and small-scale, everyday adaptations – as a vital parallel stream of action. 

This call for more widespread participation in climate adaptation mirrors the arguments around our national transition to net zero. Where progress towards a carbon-neutral UK started with efforts to decarbonise large-scale infrastructures – such as transport and heating, – or to decarbonise carbon-intensive sectors – including agriculture and energy – there has been a notable shift recognising the importance of social, economic and cultural changes alongside these efforts. Over time, we’ve heard a growing call for individuals and households to take some form of responsibility and action in what is, and will continue to be, a huge societal change. 

Previous research by The Young Foundation highlighted the significant impact the transition to net zero will have across all areas of our lives. The research made the recommendation for the CCC to acknowledge this by considering household and community vulnerability in terms of a wide range of social, economic and place-based factors. And whilst this latest report does consider what different profiles of vulnerability might be, and acknowledges that different households, communities and places will experience climate impacts to different degrees of severity, there is little discussion of what this means in terms of fairness or justice.  

Changes to the home are a good example. In the UK, the retrofit of residential buildings has been an established climate mitigation measure for some years. Households have been engaged – particularly around insulation and low-carbon heating systems, and the role these measures can play in increasing energy efficiency and therefore reducing energy bills and overall carbon emissions.

However, as a climate adaptation measure, there has been less focus on the role that households could play in adapting residential buildings to manage other threats, such as flooding or overheating. As the CCC report indicates, this is a missed opportunity, considering roughly 29m homes need to be retrofitted by 2050 regardless, so leveraging the chance to introduce both mitigation and adaptation measures could reduce both costs and disruption. But  who will have access to this form of climate adaptation, and who will be left out or left behind? Take air conditioning as an adaptive measure against extreme heat, which could be installed alongside other retrofit measures.

The report points to the need for additional support for those that are both heat-vulnerable and low-income. But research by The Young Foundation on fair and just access to retrofit found several other factors of vulnerability that play into whether households will actually take up additional support, such as concerns about disruption to daily life, or lack of trust in suppliers or technologies. The risk of those most in need of active cooling measures missing out on, in this case, potentially life-saving upgrades, could play out similarly to existing patterns of retrofit.

Another of the report’s suggestions is that creating one cool room in a house through low-cost active cooling could help to avoid significant increases in heat-related mortality in more vulnerable urban households. But research by The YoungFoundation found that limiting living to a single heated room as a coping strategy for fuel poverty can have serious adverse physical and mental health impacts. Those who might only be able to cool one room in a house would risk a significant reduction in their quality of life, compared to those with more resources. These types of responses also fail to address the underlying issues that put people in these positions in the first place, such as the inflated cost of electricity, poor access to high quality local services, and the unaffordability of home upgrades. 

Climate change and social justice

The Young Foundation have long made the argument that the transition to net zero as a form of climate mitigation is about social, political, and economic change – and that change builds on foundations of deep inequality and injustice, that have reverberating impacts across all areas of our lives. A just transition is about correcting this. Particularly as climate adaptation moves from something that is delivered by states and institutions as large-scale change, to something more frequently and consciously experienced in and around our homes, we need to be asking which households will not have access to vital adaptation measures and why? Which places and sectors might suffer greater climate impacts because of underinvestment in adaptation measures? And how will we balance our commitment to people with our commitment to nature?

Climate adaptation as an opportunity for change

Recognising that climate adaptation is a concern for households and communities highlights the opportunity to engage more people in the changes that need to happen. According to Climate Barometer’s latest survey, 71% of people want more urgent action on climate adaptation, and 55% think adaptation and mitigation need to be prioritised equally.

Transition to net zero is often talked about in terms of energy efficiency and meeting national targets, which has disengaged many. In fact, it can offer a broad range of benefits. Climate adaptation brings to life conversations about everyday, embodied experiences of climate change, that people might more easily relate to because they tangibly experience the impacts of heatwaves and flooding. It’s also important that in thinking about adaptation, we don’t lose the ambition for transformational change.

The CCC report is an admission of the lack of progress we’ve made despite accelerated efforts. This indicates that our current economic, social and democratic systems aren’t working. So we need to start looking at alternatives. How might mainstream macroeconomic policy be rerouted for more social and climate-positive outcomes? What changes could be made to our critical infrastructures for utilities, food and housing? How could we redistribute political power and decision-making so climate responses are more accountable?  While protecting communities from the different possible eventualities, we can’t pass up the rare opportunity to rewire some of those systems. Adaptation and transformation need to happen hand in hand.

Samanthi Theminimulle is Senior Research Manager at The Young Foundation.