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We are already seeing the effects of climate change nationally and internationally - drier summers and wetter winters in the UK, freak weather events, rising sea levels, more floods and resulting damage to infrastructure. It should therefore be no surprise that, whilst most law and policy to date has been aimed at mitigation, legislative developments are underway in the UK and Europe to map out the changes required to respond to the changing environment. In June 2007, the European Commission published a Green Paper on adapting to climate change in Europe http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2007:0354:FIN:EN:PDF This was followed by a consultation in May 2008 to produce a White Paper, due out early 2009, which will incorporate the results of an impact assessment of the effects of climate change in Europe with the aim of creating a Europe-wide strategy for adaptation. Here in the UK, adaptation plays an important part in the landmark Climate Change Act. S58 of the Act places a duty on the UK government to identify objectives for adapting to climate change both now and in the future and create proposals and policies for meeting these objectives The increasing frequency and severity of weather events is certainly giving adaptation more prominence, and many businesses and organisations are beginning to plan ahead. For UK businesses and organisations, the United Kingdom Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP) aims to help http://www.ukcip.org.uk/index.php. UKCIP was established in 1997 to help co-ordinate scientific research into climate change impacts and assist adaptation efforts, and is based at the Environmental Change Institute at Oxford University. UKCIP publishes climate change scenarios illustrating how the UK’s climate might change in this century. Due to be published in Spring 2009 and based on the UKCIP02 climate change scenarios, UKCIP08 will provide an up to date in-depth analysis of how the UK climate is changing. UKCIP has also produced The Adaptation Wizard, a step by step process which organisations can use to asses how climate change affects their organisation and work out how to adapt. From a legal perspective, an increasingly important question will be the extent to which businesses and organisations are required by law to analyse predicted climate change impacts when carrying out their activities and take steps to adapt. For UK companies, the Companies Act 2006 requires that, in fulfilling their duties, directors must consider the impact of their operations on the community and the environment. To illustrate, it is not difficult to see how a pattern of regular local flooding might, for example, place a director in breach where a company’s operations (perhaps construction of a new building) cause drainage and flooding problems for a neighbour. Of course, planning policy statements already acknowledge the need to consider adaptation when reaching policy decisions, particularly in light of increased rainfall and its impact beyond existing flood plains to other flat low lying areas. Insurance is another area that is already addressing adaptation. It has been widely acknowledged that climate change will lead to an increased demand for insurance and an increasing risk of extreme weather events occurring for which there may be no insurance cover. Mitigation of loss by taking adaptive measures will become critical. For all these reasons, it is becoming increasingly important for individuals, businesses and organisations to keep abreast of predicted climate change impacts when going about their activities and businesses. It is significant that, in negligence cases, courts in England and Wales are likely to pinpoint documents and reports in the public domain when deciding on the extent to which a party ought reasonably to have had knowledge of a likely impact or adaptation action. Adaptation is the new climate change buzzword, and can no longer be overlooked.
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