Professor Jim Hall lends his expert opinion to a digital series which explores the fundamental role of the guardians of our environment, and the solutions to unlocking a more resilient, thriving future for all life on Earth.
The series, The Ripple Effect, has been created by The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) in collaboration with Content With Purpose.
Prof Hall, is Lead of the Oxford Programme for Sustainable Infrastructure Systems (OPSIS) at the Environmental Change Institute and Professor of Climate and Environmental Risks at the University of Oxford. He is also a Commissioner of the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC).
Here he explains why the government needs to refine the National Adaptation Programme which sets out the actions that government and others will take to adapt to the impacts of climate change from 2023 to 2028.
The third National Adaptation Programme was mostly made up as an accumulation of existing policies and actions. Now, that in itself is not necessarily a bad thing, but those actions do need to add up.
The advice from the Committee on Climate Change, and the advice from the National Infrastructure Commission, is pretty clear, both around the need for targets, and the need for monitoring and appropriate resourcing, including through regulatory settlements, to ensure that the right amount of resource is being committed to adaptation.
Within the water sector, there's going to be, ever increasing attention needs to be paid to adaptation. This isn't going to go away. The National Infrastructure Commission has said that the Environment Agency should be given, a longer-term funding commitment. The current funding round, which we thought was a reasonable funding settlement, 5.2 billion through to 2027. But that that funding should be rolled forwards, for at least another decade.
Within the water sector, people can know that they’re going to be working on this for years and years to come. And they can expect, I think, and I hope, increasing regulatory guidance.
In April last year The National Infrastructure Commission and Climate Change Committee jointly wrote to the government urging ministers to take steps to improve the resilience of key infrastructure services to the effects of climate change.
In a new NIC report (published 19 September) we urge the government to set clear standards of resilience that infrastructure operators must maintain in the face of sudden shocks.
With billions of pounds due to be spent over the next 20 years on new infrastructure to create a greener, more productive economy, the time is right for government to set out its expectations of operators in the face of growing resilience threats.
Failing to do so will cost us all more in the long run, as expensive emergency measures have to be introduced to address service failures that could have been avoided by planned investment.
None of us can expect every service to be 100 per cent reliable in the face of big shocks to the system, but we should at least know what we can reasonably expect from different utilities when extreme events occur. That allows us as individuals – as well as other impacted infrastructure sectors – to plan for different eventualities.
The Ripple Effect digital series
Prof Hall’s film is one of a selection of short films, interviews, and case studies which brings together the innovators, leaders, and collaborators who are driving the change needed to confront today’s environmental challenges. Their insights provide valuable perspectives on the interconnected challenges of climate resilience, community well-being, and sustainable development.
The Ripple Effect digital series not only addresses the pressing issues of climate change and extreme weather but also emphasises the necessity for collective action at all levels of society to ensure a cleaner, more biodiverse planet for future generations.
Anna Daroy, CEO of CIWEM, emphasised the significance of the campaign:
The Ripple Effect digital series with CWP underscores the indispensable role of climate resilience in securing our future. By highlighting the pioneering efforts of those on the front lines, we aim to demonstrate the critical importance of collaboration in protecting our planet’s ecosystems and ensuring a sustainable legacy for generations to come."
Watch Prof Hall’s film: Refining the national adaptation programme – an expert’s view
Find out more about The Ripple Effect and learn how water and environmental professionals are leading the charge in creating a sustainable world, on the CIWEM website.