London, UK: According to the Climate Change Committee (CCC), attempts to prepare for the effects of global warming have been “lost for a decade,” and the UK is “strikingly unprepared” for them.
The official climate adviser to the government, the CCC, predicted that the effects of climate change will undoubtedly worsen for decades to come. It has frequently warned about inadequate planning and urged urgent government action to safeguard people, their homes, and their means of subsistence.
The extreme heatwave in 2022, when temperatures for the first time exceeded 40C, served as both a warning and an example, according to the CCC. At the height of the heatwave, 20 percent of hospital operations were cancelled, more than 3,000 people died prematurely, rail connections collapsed, wildfires raged, and farmers struggled with drought. As per Mr. Chris Stark, chief executive of the CCC, “it won’t be long before those kinds of very hot summers are a normal summer.”
Lack of action can be seen in the areas of heat-proofing dwellings, stopping water supply pipe leaks, preparing for flash floods, and importing less food and other goods from countries that have been impacted by climate change.
A recent IPCC report demonstrated that the effects of climate change are occurring more quickly and severely than anticipated and that the world’s temperature will continue to rise until carbon emissions reach net zero, a goal that many nations have set for 2050.
The UN secretary-general, Mr. António Guterres, stated that, “Climate chaos is wreaking havoc on economies, businesses, supply chains and public finances, and we are on a trajectory for far worse.”
Only five of the 45 adaptation needs looked at had completely credible UK government preparedness for climate change, where nearly all the relevant policy milestones were in place, based on the CCC assessment. Strategies to deal with coastal and river flooding were one good example. The report discovered that none of the 45 locations had sufficiently implemented adaption plans.