Climate adaptation report must help shape the Planning Bill, not be an afterthought

On Wednesday 30th April the Climate Change Commitee (CCC) will publish their latest climate adaptation report. The report is an assessment of the UK’s preparedness for the risks posed by climate changes (for example, flooding, drought and heatwaves).

The report shows that 6.3 million properties in England are in areas at risk of flooding from rivers, the sea, and surface water. This is predicted to rise to around 8 million (one in four) by 2050. Nature-based solutions can help with climate adaptation and mitigation in multiple ways, from ‘re-wiggling’ of rivers and re-wetting of peatlands helping to prevent flooding and store carbon, to urban tree-planting and wetland creation helping to create greener communities better able to withstand extreme heat.

Ali Plummer, Director of Policy & Advocacy, at Wildlife and Countryside Link, said:
“It is a failing of current policies and successive Governments that the UK is so poorly prepared for the extreme weather already exhausting communities, emergency services, and local economies. This Government must recognise the critical role that nature plays in building resilient, healthy, and vibrant communities able to withstand and adapt to the real impacts of climate change.

“A nature positive planning system must be part of the solution. We need planning that embeds nature recovery, green infrastructure, and long-term resilience at its heart. Weakening protections and sidelining ecological expertise will only leave communities more exposed to extreme weather, food insecurity, and ecosystem collapse. Extreme weather will also cause more nature damage from drought and wildfires. Climate adaptation isn’t optional – it is a fundamental necessity for a safe, thriving future.”

Earlier this month over 30 environmental groups including the National Trust, RSPB and The Wildlife Trusts wrote to Secretary of State Steve Reed and Minister Mathew Pennycook calling for the government to fix the proposed Planning Bill to ensure that it does not undo existing environmental law and further threaten nature, but takes the opportunity for “win-wins” for nature restoration and sustainable development.

In their Wilder By Design campaign they charities have called on the government to make sure Planning Proposals: 

• Deliver a planning system that is wilder by design: Including a Local Authority duty to help meet climate and nature targets, delivering well-designed national spatial and marine plans, and requiring cost-effective nature-friendly design elements in new developments.
• Prioritise Avoiding Harm: Developers must first avoid environmental damage before relying on Environmental Delivery Plans (EDPs) to provide compensation, maintaining the long-standing “mitigation hierarchy”.
• Base Decisions on Science: New protected features should only be added when clear scientific evidence supports the effectiveness of strategic approaches.
• Guarantee Upfront Benefits: Environmental improvements must be delivered upfront with a clear and transparent improvement plan. The improvement test must also be strengthened to require definite, measurable, and significant benefits, rather than just probable improvements.