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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what policy priority his Department affords to climate change (a) adaptation and (b) prevention.

Climate change mitigation and adaptation are departmental priorities, underlined by the Government’s legally binding target to reach net zero emissions by 2050 and legal obligation to publish a Climate Change Risk Assessment every five years, followed by a National Adaptation Programme. Defra is the lead department for adaptation and as such is coordinating action across Government to contribute to the programme and build climate resilience.