UK Climate Change Risk Assessment

The Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA) presents the latest evidence on the risks and opportunities of climate change for the UK to 2100.

The Climate Change Act 2008 commits the UK Government to carry out an assessment of the climate change risks to the UK every five years. The third CCRA was released January 2022, .

The Climate Change Committee (CCC) has a legal duty to advise the UK and devolved Governments on the CCRA and published an independent assessment of UK Climate Risk (UKCCRA3) in 2021.

  • New evidence shows that the gap between the level of risk we face and the level of adaptation underway has widened. Adaptation action has failed to keep pace with the worsening reality of climate risk.
  • The UK has the capacity and the resources to respond effectively to these risks, but it has not yet done so. Acting now will be cheaper than waiting to deal with the consequences. UK and devolved Governments must lead that action.
  • Eight risk areas that require the most urgent attention in the next two years were identified. They have been selected on the basis of the urgency of additional action, the gap in UK adaptation planning, the opportunity to integrate adaptation into forthcoming policy commitments and the need to avoid locking in poor planning, especially as we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Reports on the full set of 61 risks and opportunities. These must be considered in the next set of national National Adaptation Plans, due from 2023.
  • Recommendations on ten principles for good adaptation planning that should form the basis for the next round of national adaptation plans. These are intended to bring adaptation into mainstream consideration by UK and devolved Governments and business.

    • The UKCCRA3 includes a national summary for Scotland which found of the 31 risks or opportunities for Scotland 16 were required “more action needed” on the urgency score. The UKCCRA3 also has a detailed technical assessment, sector summaries and links to research: Visit the UK Climate Risk website to access all of the UKCCRA3 resources.

    These assessments provide the evidence base to inform Government-led national adaptation programmes in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Under the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009, Scottish Ministers are required to develop an adaptation programme to address the risks identified for Scotland in the CCRA. The first Scottish Climate Change Adaptation Programme (SCCAP) was released in May 2014, followed by Climate Ready Scotland: Second Scottish Climate Change Adaptation Programme 2019-2024 in September 2019. The third Scottish National Adaptation Plan is due for publication in autumn 2023. The draft plan can be seen here.

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