From Yorkshire and the Humber to Westminster: Delivering a well-adapted UK

The Climate Change Committee’s “Well-Adapted UK” report published yesterday adds powerful new evidence on UK climate risk and adaptation – but the headline message hasn’t changed in 20 years: the UK is not prepared for the climate risks we face.

We’re already seeing why this matters. The UK is built for a climate that no longer exists – and disruptions from extreme heat, flooding and other risks are happening now, with growing consequences for communities, businesses and economic stability.

And these impacts are not felt equally. Age, disability, income and ethnicity all shape vulnerability, making adaptation as much a fairness and economic resilience issue as an environmental one.

Across Yorkshire and the Humber

The Yorkshire & Humber Climate Commission is convening partners across sectors and landscapes to reduce climate risks, strengthen resilience in vulnerable communities, and turn nature recovery into coordinated, investable action, including:

• supporting local authorities to embed climate risk into decision-making
• building a shared regional evidence base on risks, vulnerabilities and opportunities (AAAP, Weather Narratives and Playground of Possibilities)
• placing nature recovery at the core of long-term resilience and economic security (Land And Water Stewardship project)
• embedding just transition principles, including through the Good Futures Framework.

This systems-based, whole-economy and multi-actors approach is essential because risks to infrastructure, supply chains and communities are deeply interconnected.

But without clear national ambitions, climate actions in Yorkshire and the Humber – as with other regions across the UK – risk being constrained and lacking in the consistency, alignment and momentum needed at scale.

So what’s next?

As Baroness Brown puts it in the report’s foreword from the Chair: “Whether or not to prepare for the changing climate is now solely a political choice.”

Adaptation is not just about avoiding losses – it’s about strengthening resilience, enabling growth and securing long-term prosperity. Government must now set the ambition, clarify responsibilities and create certainty on funding to support actions.

The evidence and the solutions are on the table. The ball is now firmly in government’s court.

This is an emergency, but one we have the tools to tackle, if matched with the national leadership it requires.

Muriel Bonjean Stanton, Project and Impact Manager, Yorkshire & Humber Climate Commission

Photo credit: Leeds City Council