Image: West Gorton Community Park in Manchester lowers the flood risk faced by communities, as well as boosting health and wellbeing. Credit: Manchester City Council.
UK councils faced a growing threat from floods, heatwaves and other climate dangers. These will put residents at risk, but also increase pressure on council services and local economies.
Authorities can take action now – for example, by using nature to create effective defences against extreme weather. These projects won’t just protect lives and property, they’ll also create opportunities for better health, jobs and volunteering, and neighbourhood regeneration.
But with stretched resources, getting adaptation projects off the ground can be challenging. The barriers include getting buy-in from across local authorities. That’s why we’re sharing four steps for officers, that can help you move things forward.
Each one is supported by a video presentation from a the most recent meeting of our climate adaptation network for council officers. Email Frieda Wignall to find out more about the network, and how it could benefit you.
Reach out across your authority
You can spark action with a plan for engaging senior leadership – and by talking to your internal comms team about ‘lunch and learn’ events, awareness campaigns, or sharing resources online with all staff. What are the barriers to wider ownership? Would offering adaptation literacy training help?
Learn more in this presentation from Westminster City Council.
Understand the dangers, and how your council can respond
Use the newly updated Local Partnerships Risk Matrix to understand the dangers ahead, and make the case for action to decision makers at your authority. The matrix shows which challenges will affect which services and departments, and suggests the level of risk too.
Hear more in this presentation from Local Partnerships.
Get going with a free starter pack
The Adaptation Scotland starter pack is a great resource for authorities north and south of the border. The resources in it, including a benchmarking tool and adaptation capability framework, can be used across the UK.
Hear more from Sniffer, one of the bodies behind the pack.
Strengthen your case, with insights from national climate experts
The Climate Change Committee is a key body helping the UK understand and prepare for the challenges ahead. Their detailed presentation to our network featured some fascinating insights – like the fact that just a quarter of councils in England consider the impacts of extreme weather in their climate action plans.
Discover more in their presentation.
