London is already being hammered by climate impacts, making a rapid “reset” to support climate resilience in the UK capital “non-negotiable,” especially for the most vulnerable, a landmark review has concluded.
Commissioned last year by Mayor Sadiq Khan, the review by former Environment Agency Chair Emma Howard Boyd, published July 17, makes clear that neither policy-makers nor the private sector have “adequately planned” for the inevitable “cascading” impacts of extreme weather events like heatwaves and flooding, writes the Independent.
“This is a reset moment for efforts to increase the UK’s stability in the face of global climate disruption,” Howard Boyd said.
Heat often comes along with drought and sometimes wildfire, as London discovered during its 2022 heatwave, experiencing a “50% increase in water consumption while reservoirs were at their lowest for 30 years, and wildfires pushed the London Fire Brigade to its limits,” the news story states, citing the review’s findings.
“As the new government takes action to end the cost-of-living crisis, protecting the lives and livelihoods of working people from extreme weather is non-negotiable,” review author Howard Boyd warned in an interview with the Independent.
UK seniors, especially those over 65 in care homes, need particular protection, as they are currently “at highest risk of heat-related mortality,” reports the Independent.
The review recommends that London launch an official heat plan as soon as possible and a National Wildfire Strategy and Action Plan by 2025.
The city must pay particular attention to its cooling green spaces, its trees and parks, which are under increasing threat from heat, wildfire, and windstorms, the review warns. Such spaces should also be prized for their flood-mitigating powers.
Speaking of flooding, the review recommended the creation of a “Strategic Surface Water Authority for London to promote, enforce, and allocate funds in line with a strategic city-wide approach to flooding.”
It says flood defences must be upgraded downstream of the Thames Barrier by 2040, upstream by 2050, and that an entirely new barrier must be built by 2070.
The review says climate resilience should also be prioritized in all new construction, from homes to critical infrastructure.
“Climate change is one of the biggest dangers our capital faces, and its effects cannot be ignored,” Khan said, adding that the review provided “clarity and direction” on how London can both adapt and thrive in the face of the climate crisis.
“This is also an issue of social justice,” the mayor added, “as the review makes clear it is Londoners on lower incomes that are most exposed to the impacts of dangerous climate change.”
