Adaptation
Our Adaptation theme is focused on making the council and district more resilient to the worsening effects of climate change and improving our preparedness to face impacts such as extreme weather events, including storms or heatwaves. This includes being ready for the current impacts we face and preparing for future impacts as well.
Adaptation is an important step for our council and our communities to make. Taking steps to adapt to climate change can help to protect people as well as the built environment and the natural environment.
The information on this page is focused on climate change and adaptation and does not cover what to do in extreme events or emergencies. Please visit the severe and unpredictable weather webpage or the how to report flooding webpage for further information in these areas.
What is climate adaptation?
Climate adaptation refers to the changes we can make to be better prepared to face the current and future impacts of climate change. Adaptation is a key part of climate action and can include individual and local steps and it can also include national and international efforts.
Adaptation includes a wide range of actions that help us become better prepared to deal with the effects of climate change, for example avoiding high risk flood areas or redirecting water away from residential or built-up areas. It also includes how we manage heatwaves, droughts, and wildfires. Climate adaptation is different from climate mitigation, as mitigation actions focus on reducing carbon emissions to stop climate change getting worse.
The global average temperature has continued to rise throughout the 21st century, and in the 12 months from July 2023 to June 2024 the global monthly average surface temperature was 1.5°C or higher than the pre-industrial baseline. Visit the Copernicus Climate Change Service website for more information. Whilst significant, this single year of data doesn’t mean our global targets to limit temperature rise are out of reach; the Paris Agreement target uses a multidecadal average to assess temperature rise rather than a single year. This means we need to keep taking urgent climate action to play our part in global climate action efforts.
Adaptation is an essential part of our climate action efforts because of the levels of carbon already released into the atmosphere. Even if we stopped all carbon emissions tomorrow, we would still need to adapt to face the impacts of climate change that we have already locked in by emitting carbon in the past.
Why is climate adaptation important?
The effects of climate change are already being felt across the world, and temperatures are expected to keep rising causing even more damage to our planet. Climate Change is already changing the way we live and will get worse if we don’t reduce our Greenhouse Gas emissions which cause climate change. Alongside efforts to reduce emissions, we must take steps to prepare against the impacts of a changing climate. We are seeing increasingly extreme weather events which are occurring more and more often; this includes storms, floods, heatwaves and droughts. You can find out more about climate change and how it is affecting the UK on the Met Office’s Climate Explained webpage.
How can we adapt to current and future climate change?
Adaptation is one of the key methods of taking climate action and it can include a wide range of activities. Adaptation can also help us to protect the people who are most vulnerable to climate change in our local area and across the world. Climate adaptation should try to protect people, places, and nature at the same time.
Adaptation actions can also have extra positive outcomes which are called co-benefits. This means that an action focused on preparing for future climate impacts could also help us to save money or to create jobs, it could help us to protect the natural environment, or support our communities. Changing our behaviours, inspiring others, and championing climate action in our local area can all help support climate action.
Simple climate adaptation suggestions you could consider
We can all take climate actions which can help our families and communities to become more resilient to climate change. This also helps us to work towards a flourishing net zero future for us all. Some examples of adaptation actions include:
- Planting drought resilient plants in your garden to prepare for increasing summer temperatures.
- Planting trees to provide shade which can help keep gardens and buildings cooler to reduce the risk of overheating.
- Using water butts to collect rainwater for your garden rather than using a hosepipe connected to the mains water supply.
- You could consider home upgrades like improving insulation to help keep your home warmer in winter and cooler in summer, this can also help save money on energy bills. You can find out more about home energy efficiency on the Energy Saving Trust website.
- Simple habits like keeping the curtains or blinds closed in the hottest part of a summer day to help keep the heat out and then opening windows in the evening to let cool air in are easy ways to adapt to increasing summer temperatures.
- Avoiding going out and about in the hottest parts of the day if possible or walking your pet in the early morning or later in the evening to avoid extreme heat.
- You can find even more adaptation and climate friendly habit ideas on the United Nation’s Act Now webpage and through their AWorld app to track how your actions all add up.
You can find out more about adaptation on the Met Office's climate change adaptation webpage and you can also find some suggested adaptation actions on the Met Office's everyday actions to tackle climate change webpage.