CCC report ‘a clarion call to think differently about land’, we say

The Climate Change Committee (CCC) has today published its report on progress in adapting to climate change. The CCC is an independent group of experts who advise the government on how to reduce our carbon emissions.

The climate emergency is the biggest threat facing our countryside and planet. We need to drastically reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

In its report, the CCC warns that the ‘country is not prepared for climate impacts’.

The report says there is now unequivocal evidence that climate change is making extreme weather in the UK more likely and more extreme. This extreme weather is affecting food supplies and our landscape, as well as increasing the risk of flooding or drought.

The report goes on to argue that there has been no change in addressing this risk with the change in government.

Responding to the report, CPRE’s CEO, Roger Mortlock said:

‘This report is a clarion call to think differently about land. It supports CPRE’s evidence that most productive agricultural land is at high risk of flooding and research from this year that shows that farms around our towns and cities are vanishing at alarming rate. We need to safeguard our remaining farmland to boost biodiversity and ensure the UK’s food security.

‘Making the best use of our finite supply of land means taking a smarter approach to renewables, infrastructure and housing. If agricultural land is as precious as this report demonstrates, we can’t afford to keep wasting these opportunities to put solar on roofs, not prime farmland.

‘Likewise, the default for building new homes is too often a needless take of agricultural land while opportunities to develop 1.2 million homes on brownfield sites are ignored. This report urges a rethink on how the government delivers its targets and a recognition that land might be our most precious resource in adapting to climate change.’