Floods: Climate Change

(asked on 18th March 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what engagement he has had with UK communities with an increased risk of flooding due to climate change in the runup to COP26.


Answered by
Rebecca Pow Portrait
Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This question was answered on 26th March 2021

Flood and coastal erosion risk management is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.

Ministers meet regularly with communities, honourable members of this house, and a range of organisations representing those at risk from flooding and coastal erosion.

Adapting to the current and predicted changes to our climate is vital. The UK is already leading the fight against climate change by delivering on our world-leading target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Whilst we continue to reduce our contribution to climate change, we are also taking robust action to improve the resilience of our people, economy and environment.

Last year, the government published a long-term Policy Statement which sets out our ambition to create a nation more resilient to future flood and coastal erosion risk. The Policy Statement includes five policies and over 40 supporting actions which will accelerate progress to better protect and better prepare the country against flooding and coastal erosion in the face of more frequent extreme weather as a result of climate change. For example, by the end of March 2021, we will have invested £2.6 billion to better protect more than 300,000 homes from flood and coastal erosion risk between 2015/16 and 2020/21.

From April 2021, the government will double the amount it invests in the flood and coastal defence programme in England to £5.2 billion over six years. This will provide around 2,000 new defence schemes to better protect a further 336,000 properties. In addition, up to £170 million will be spent to accelerate work on 22 shovel-ready flood defence schemes that will begin construction before the end of 2021/2022. We are also investing an additional £200 million in the Flood and Coastal Resilience Innovation Programme. This will help over 25 local areas over six years to take forward wider innovative actions that improve their resilience to flooding and coastal erosion.

Adaptation and Resilience is one of the priority action areas for COP26. This will build upon the ‘Call for Action’ which was launched at the United Nation’s Climate Action Summit (UNCAS) in September 2019. Hosting COP26 provides the UK with an unrivalled opportunity to capitalise on its reputation in science, innovation and climate leadership to drive forward change on a global stage.

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