Government report calls for urgent action to make UK infrastructure climate resilient

Spelman said new projects needed to have climate resilience built into them or millions of pounds of private and public investment would be "wasted". But she also said it presented significant business opportunities for those companies able to develop technologies and processes that met these challenges. 

"£200 billion is expected to be invested in the UK’s infrastructure over the next five years. But if the facilities, which support our society cannot cope with floods, droughts, or freezing winters then that money will have been wasted," she said. "This presents great opportunities for British businesses to develop new technologies and processes in engineering, planning and consultancy, ICT-based technologies, renewable energy, investment, and insurance."

Spelman was speaking following the hottest April on record, which left heath and moorland in some of the parts of the country tinder dry, leading to wildfires.

Today’s report, the culmination of two year's work between the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Department of Energy and Climate Change and the Department for Transport, among others, outlines the challenges facing the transport, energy, water and ICT sectors and sets out what action needs to be taken by both Government, regulators, operators and owners of infrastructure projects. 

In particular, it calls on owners and operators to ensure climate resilience is considered in the design of new infrastructure and in its maintenance, while engineers should develop new materials, designs and techniques, to 'climate-proof’ infrastructure projects. It also suggests due diligence should take into account climate risk to assets by those looking to invest in infrastructure projects and that industries have the right skills to help prepare infrastructure for climate change. 

"Our economy is built on effective transport and communications networks and reliable energy and water supplies. But the economy cannot grow if there are repeated power failures, or goods cannot be transported because roads are flooded and railways have buckled, or if intense rainfall or high temperatures disrupt Wi-Fi signals," said Spelman.

Today's report was launched at London’s Blackfriars Station, which is undergoing a £550 million redevelopment, which will include climate-resilient technologies such as sun pipes, rain harvesting systems, thermal insulation, and Photovoltaic solar panels to decrease its reliance on other infrastructure such as water and electricity networks.

It will feed into the Government’s new National Infrastructure Plan and its Adaptation Programme, which will set out the actions needed to prepare the entire country for climate change.