Restoring wetlands and forests, the effect of climate shocks on food prices and protecting vulnerable people, especially older adults, will all be areas of study.
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) are investing £15 million as part of the ‘Maximising UK Adaptation to Climate Change (MACC)’ programme.
Adapting to climate change
Defra Chief Scientific Advisor Gideon Henderson said:
Tackling climate change not only means accelerating progress towards net zero, but also strengthening the resilience of human and natural systems to the changes that a warmer climate brings.
Communities across the UK are already being impacted by shifting underlying weather patterns and by increasingly intense and frequent extreme weather; heatwaves, storms, wildfires droughts, flooding and more.
Projects like those announced today give us ever better data and insights to help us safeguard our natural environment, protect human health and ensure food security, as we seek to maximise our adaptation to a changing climate.
Developing long-term solutions
MACC looks at how all four UK nations can better address current barriers around public awareness, policy, legislation and climate data currently hindering the UK’s ability to adapt to the effects of a changing, warming climate.
MACC is also helping to deliver the ambitions of UKRI’s ‘Building a green future’ and ‘Building a secure and resilient world’ strategic themes.
Building a green future
Professor Louise Heathwaite, Natural Environment Research Council Executive Chair and UKRI Executive Champion for Building a Green Future, said:
While we look to mitigate further climate change, we must also adapt to what’s happening right now. These new research projects, alongside the Hub already up and running, will provide vital insights into how best to manage extreme weather and other effects we already see and feel around us.
UKRI’s five strategic themes aim to tackle such large-scale, complex challenges. Working with others, we aim to accelerate the green economy by supporting research and innovation that delivers on national priorities and unlocks solutions essential to achieving net zero in the UK by 2050.
Innovative research
The programme consists of two strands:
- a climate change adaptation hub: coordination and translation
- six research projects: delivering new transdisciplinary knowledge for UK climate adaptation
The climate change adaptation hub was launched in May 2024, led by Dr Helen Adams of King’s College London. Its work aims to inform a national climate change adaptation plan by addressing barriers around public awareness, policy, legislation and climate data that might be hindering the UK’s ability to adapt to global warming.
Food price shocks
These latest innovative research projects will work directly with the hub to ensure knowledge exchange between research and policy.
Adapting to climate-induced food price shocks in the UK
The research project is led by University of Aberdeen.
This will study how climate change affects food production in the UK and globally.
Using economic models, it will explore how climate-driven food price increases impact health and find ways to boost resilience by:
- providing a significantly stronger evidence base on the impact of climate change on UK food prices and its effects on population health
- better informed public and political opinion on the impact of climate change on the price of food and greater clarity on and support for policies and behaviours that ameliorate impacts on health
Protecting urban spaces
DIY greening prescription for climate adaptation in urban streets
The research project is led by the University of Surrey.
Urban streets, essential for transportation and home to many, are increasingly vulnerable to climate change impacts such as:
- overheating
- flooding
- air pollution
- biodiversity loss
All of these impacts harm residents’ health.
Limited space for major changes means innovative, cost-effective, and easy-to-implement nature-based solutions are crucial. Green-blue-grey infrastructure (GBGI) offers promise, but evidence of its effectiveness is scarce.
Grey infrastructure for housing, business and road infrastructure dominates in urban and peri-urban landscapes. Green and blue infrastructure is all natural and semi-natural landscape elements such as trees, bushes, grass and open-air spaces that could transform:
- roadsides
- rooves
- walls
- balcony gardens
- pathways
Nature-based solutions
Joined up landscapes: resilient nature based solutions for climate adaptation
The research project is led by the University of London.
Nature-based solutions (NBS) like restoring wetlands and forests are key climate adaptation measures but need more evidence of their effectiveness. Despite their potential, NBS receive limited funding and require support from various stakeholders.
The project aims to optimise NBS, such as restoring or managing wetlands, peatlands, forests and coastal habitats, for climate adaptation by 2050.
It also aims to create a robust framework for climate adaptation that is both scientifically rigorous and practically applicable, ensuring the long-term resilience of the UK’s landscapes, communities and the wider food system.
Climate adaptation
WM-adapt: maximising adaptation to climate change in the West Midlands and beyond
The research project is led by the University of Birmingham.
This project aims to:
- enhance climate adaptation using community feedback
- pilot adaptation pathways
- create a Regional Adaptation Network
It will also improve Climate Risk Vulnerability Assessment capabilities and collaborate with the Adaptation Hub for broader impact.
Urban areas, where people, businesses and critical infrastructure are co-located, are disproportionately impacted. Impermeable surfaces exacerbate flood risk, while the urban heat island effect increases overheating risk.
Intended impacts of this work are:
- towns and cities are prepared for and resilient to surface water flooding
- urban heat risks to towns and cities are mitigated
- a planning system that prioritises future climate resilience
Accelerating resilience and climate adaptation of domestic environments for vulnerable populations (ARCADE)
The research project is led by University College London.
The ARCADE project helps protect vulnerable people, especially older adults, from heat. It studies how heat affects people in different housing types, like retirement villages and social housing.
Currently experts monitor indoor environments, use computer models, and develop tools to assess heat risks and mitigation measures. The project aims to improve decision-making and policies to better protect vulnerable populations.
It centres on those who are affected and who are so often excluded from the heat-health agenda. It includes:
- homes (in particular, social housing)
- care homes
- extra-care homes
- sheltered housing
- retirement villages
Unlocking private sector investment
Creating the enabling conditions for UK climate adaptation investment (ATTENUATE)
The research project is led by the London School of Economics and Political Science
The UK faces urgent climate risks and needs significant public and private funding to enhance readiness and integrate adaptation. However, economic, structural and behavioral barriers hinder financing for adaptation.
The ATTENUATE project aims to unlock private sector funding for climate adaptation, making it an attractive investment. It will build the case for public sector investment and identify ways to overcome barriers to funding.
The project involves case studies on flood risk and extreme heat, working with local and national government levels to develop climate adaptation options. It will quantify costs and benefits, improve enabling conditions, and develop a UK Climate Adaptation Investment Framework to support future adaptation plans.
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