How we can do adaptation better

May’s unusually hot weather isn’t just small talk – the heatwave, which was the second-hottest May since records began – is another sign that the weather patterns we’ve long taken for granted are changing.  

Those changes aren’t abstract anymore; they’re showing up in everyday life. Water supplies are coming under pressure, infrastructure gets pushed to its limits, and systems we rely on start to strain. Our health and wellbeing is affected and there’s significant economic impact, too (a 1°C increase in summer temperatures reduces UK economic growth by about 2.4%). 

Cutting emissions, while essential, isn’t enough. The Climate Change Committee’s recent report, A Well-Adapted UK, states: “The UK was built for a climate that no longer exists today and will be increasingly distant in years to come.”  

The report warns that, as a minimum, the UK should prepare for the weather extremes that will be experienced if global warming levels reach 2°C above preindustrial levels by 2050. This will mean heatwaves in southern England regularly exceeding 40C, the intensity of heavy rainfall increasing by up to 60%, and a doubling of the number of days with serious wildfire risk. 

Need for adaptation

This is where climate adaptation comes in. At its core, adaptation is about getting ahead of the problem. It means taking practical steps, like strengthening flood defences, designing buildings that stay cool in extreme heat, or restoring landscapes such as peatlands to reduce wildfire risks. 

Instead of reacting after an event, adaptation is about planning early and building resilience over time. And, because climate impacts are so interconnected – a single heatwave can affect energy, transport, and health services all at once – this kind of preparation only works if organisations coordinate and work together. 

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) keeps track of adaptation actions across the country through an instrument called the Adaptation Reporting Power (ARP). This is a mechanism by which government asks organisations to explain what climate risks they face and how they are preparing for them. Over time, it helps build a clearer national picture of how ready the country really is for future climate risks and where more efforts are needed.  

Right now, Defra is taking stock of how this instrument should evolve. Its recent consultation on the next round of reporting, ARP5, which closed on 20 May 2026, aimed to make the process more focused and, crucially, more useful in driving real-world resilience rather than just collecting information. 

Region-wide response

To feed into that conversation, Yorkshire and Humber Climate Commission convened organisations from across the region to share their insights and experiences. Two online sessions were held, with 15 external participants in total, including representatives from local and combined authorities, emergency services and the NHS.   

What emerged was a set of clear, practical messages about what’s working and what needs to improve. 

1. Adaptation efforts can feel fragmented. While the direction of travel is encouraging, and many organisations are doing valuable work, this too often happens in isolation. There is a real opportunity to better connect the dots, linking efforts across organisations and focusing more on what progress looks like in practice, not just on identifying risks. 
2. Adaptation needs to work at multiple scales at once. Climate risks don’t respect organisational or sector boundaries, but they often hit hardest in specific places, such as a river catchment, a town, or a community. Strengthening coordination at regional and local levels could make a tangible difference where it matters most. 
3. Organisations play different roles, and reporting should reflect those differences. Large, system-critical operators such as energy, water, and transport providers should report on a mandatory basis, while fragmented sectors (like farming) can benefit from collective approaches, supported by trade bodies offering shared insights and work on interdependencies. Mayoral Combined Authorities also have a vital role, linking planning, infrastructure, and community resilience. Bringing strategic authorities more fully into the reporting process through a phased approach with clear expectations, funding, and strong collaboration with local authorities would strengthen coordination across the system. 
4. Reporting needs to feel worthwhile. If it becomes just another box-ticking exercise, it risks losing its value. The process should build on work organisations are already doing, avoid duplication, and put more emphasis on tangible progress rather than plans on paper. The goal should be better decisions and better outcomes, not just better reports. 
5. Organisations are more likely to engage when they can see what’s in it for them. Better access to data, opportunities to collaborate, and clearer links to funding and investment decisions can all make participation more meaningful and therefore more likely to turn into action. 

These insights were collated by the Commission and submitted to Defra, and we also shared them with participants, and disseminated them to the region’s local and combined authorities. Taken together, they point to a simple idea: climate adaptation isn’t just about understanding risks, it’s about acting on them – together. And, as the early heatwave of spring 2026 has shown, the time to get this right is now. 

Muriel Bonjean Stanton

Muriel leads Yorkshire & Humber Climate Commission’s Accelerating Adaptative Action Programme

Read the Commission’s response to ARP5