Adaptation Planning

Why is adaptation important?

Our climate is changing. In the future we can expect to experience more extreme conditions than now.

For example:

• more rain in winter meaning we have to deal with more floods
• more very hot days in summer may lead to health problems for some people
• hotter and drier summers putting more pressure on public water supply
• rising sea levels leading to more coastal flooding and erosion.

These impacts affect us all and will change our environment and way of life. Planning for the impacts of a changing climate will help us minimise disruption and target economic investment for maximum effect.

Summary of the Environment Agency’s role in adaptation

As the leading public body for protecting and improving the environment in England and Wales, the Environment Agency has a key role to play in supporting how businesses, the environment and communities respond to climate change.

We have major responsibilities for increasing resilience to climate change and reducing adverse impacts, for example through managing flood risk, costal erosion, drought and seal level rise and protecting habitats. This is known as climate change adaptation.

Our aim is to help people and wildlife adapt to climate change and reduce its adverse impacts. We do this by:

• putting climate change at the heart of everything we do, by having strategic oversight of the risks that climate change poses to our business, and improving the climate resilience of our activities
• supporting Governments to ensure policy and programmes account for climate risks
• providing support to external delivery partners who have key roles in protecting the natural environment and influencing the built environment

New Service

Government has given the Environment Agency a new role to provide advice and support to businesses, public sector and other organisations in England to help them adapt to a changing climate. For more information see our Climate Ready pages.