Adapting to climate change is a key part of the Council’s climate change action programme. This means helping our communities, economy and environment to be better prepared for the climate changes that are coming.

In recent years we have seen significant extreme weather events globally and within the UK, whether this be flooding, extreme heat or drought. In the UK, the summer of 2022 has seen the hottest temperatures ever recorded in the UK as well a significant floods.

We have certainly not been immune to this in Warwick District. The predictions from scientists (including the UK’s Met Office) are that these events will become more frequent and more extreme.

So, even if we are successful in acting to minimise the extent of climate change, we have to be prepared for more storms, higher summer temperatures and more droughts.

If we don’t prepare, these events will affect our lives in so many ways:

• Changes to the wildlife that we value so highly in our area with some species facing the prospect of extinction whilst other will migrate away
• Impacts on our health as we try to cope with hotter temperatures, with particular impacts for those who are most vulnerable
• Concerns for our infrastructure and services, including energy supply and transport
• Impacts on food production
• Disruption to our lives from flooding, especially those that live in areas most susceptible to floods

This list is not extensive; it has the potential to impact us in a number of other ways.

The Council is therefore working on a Climate Change Adaptation Plan. This is still being formulated but will look at:

• Working in partnership with other organisations (such as the Environment Agency and Warwickshire County Council) to reduce the risk of flooding
• Investing in Council homes and buildings to enable better cooling and ventilation during heatwaves
• Using our planning powers to make sure new buildings are built to standards and in locations which reduce the impacts of future extreme weather events
• Looking at how tree planting and the way we manage green spaces can help provide natural cooling and natural flood prevention
• Working with partners to ensure local infrastructure is resilient to change
• Working with partners to help our local economy adapt to a changing climate, thinking about parts of our economy that may be particularly affected such as tourism or agriculture