New climate projections will help towns and cities adapt
The latest climate projections for the UK – UKCP09 - provide an important new resource for local authorities to underpin their strategic and spatial planning.
The projections, released on 18 June 2009, show that by 2080 London will be between 2C and 6C hotter than today and that every part of the UK is likely to be wetter in winter and drier in summer. By 2050, summer rainfall could decrease by 20 per cent in southern England and in Yorkshire and Humberside, while Scotland and north west England could see winter rainfall increase by the same amount.
Launching the climate projections, environment secretary Hilary Benn said: “There is no doubt about it – climate change is the biggest challenge facing the world today. Climate change is already happening – the hottest 10 years on record globally have all been since 1990. This landmark scientific evidence shows not only that we need to tackle the causes of climate change but also that we must deal with the consequences.”
Mr Benn’s speech showed how the need to adapt to a changing climate cuts across several critical areas. “The projections will allow us to make sure we have a resilient infrastructure to cope – whether it’s the design of school buildings or protection of new power plants, maintaining the supply of drinking water, adjusting ways of farming for drier summers or understanding how our homes and businesses will have to adapt”.
The Sustainable Cities website offers advice to towns and cities on all of these critical themes. Sustainable urban design and management can help towns and cities adapt to increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events associated with climate change. For example, green infrastructure can help with flooding and the urban heat island effect.
Designing and adapting buildings to avoid overheating as temperatures rise can be linked to adaptation measures around the buildings as well as internally. Future proofing will ensure that buildings do not join the ranks of the difficult to upgrade existing building stock.
Planning for a changing climate
Local authorities have an important leadership role to play to ensure that infrastructure, buildings, public spaces and services take account of the changing climate as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Dealing with climate change is about city and town planning and management in its widest sense, and is the responsibility of all those involved in strategic decision making. This includes those senior officers and members with responsibility for economic planning, housing strategy, transport planning, children’s services, health and wellbeing, environment, green space and regeneration as well as spatial planning.
The planning policy framework is a critical tool for local and regional authorities to implement strong principles that will affect action on climate change. The principles can be expressed through regional spatial strategies and the local development framework, including core strategy, area action plans and supplementary planning documents.
