The Impacts of Climate Change: Implications for DETR
This report, completed in May 2001 before the Government reorganisation, looks at the implications of climate change across the whole range of policy and operational responsibilities for DETR and its agencies. Some of the issues considered in the report are now the responsibility of Defra, whilst others were for DTLR (and now for the Department for Transport, and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister), the Cabinet Office and DTI. It is planned to extend the assessment to cover all Defra policy and operational responsibilities.
Introduction
The report: The Impacts of Climate Change: Implications for DETR was completed in May by DETR's In House Policy Consultancy (IHPC) unit. This work was undertaken to inform the development of our policy on adaptation to climate change in the UK, and as such is not a statement of Government policy.
The study sought to explore the implications of climate change across the whole range of policy and operational responsibilities for DETR and its agencies, and to advise on next steps. It was also intended to show Government leadership in taking a comprehensive approach to assessing the implications of climate change and to act as a model for similar work by others.
The report reflects interviews held by members of the IHPC team with every DETR Directorate (including its agencies) likely to be affected by climate change, as well as interviews held with a selection of external experts.
Unsurprisingly, the report reveals a mixed picture of the different levels of awareness, degrees of interest and approaches to the implications of climate change across DETR. It outlines the progress so far and identifies a number of organisational gaps. It comments on the factors that are constraining progress, including the uncertainties in the science of climate change prediction and impacts assessment. It also makes proposals on managing uncertainty, including the development of a tool kit for decision-makers and pointing them to sources of information, expertise and guidance, including investment appraisal. The report commends the research framework put in place for climate prediction at the Hadley Centre and stakeholder-led exploration of impacts under the UK Climate Impacts Programme.
The report contains some useful and challenging recommendations for Government. Over the coming months we will be considering how best to respond to the report's recommendations and feed them into the development of a wider domestic adaptation policy process. Since completing this study, you will be aware DETR has been restructured and that some of the responsibilities that were considered in this report were transferred to Defra, whilst others are located in DTLR, the Cabinet Office and DTI. Clearly we will need some time to consider the implications of these changes and how in the light of them, to proceed with the development of adaptation policy at a national level. This may mean that there will be opportunities to move ahead on some of these areas more easily, but there will be challenges too.
This internal review was commissioned in part as a model for others, consequently we now intend to encourage others to undertake similar work. To continue to demonstrate a Government lead in this area, we would like to extend our assessment of the implications of climate change to cover all Defra policy and operational responsibilities.
The Report
The report is available in Adobe Acrobat format (163kb) for downloading.
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Page last modified:
18 June 2002
Page published: 14 December 2001