Lords debates impacts of climate change

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On Monday 24 July, members of the House of Lords debated the government's preparation in adapting to the impacts that climate change will have on health, the economy, food security and the environment.

Debate

Lord Krebs (Crossbench), former CEO of the Natural Environment Research Council and former chairman of the Foods Standards Agency, put forward the debate.

This was a general debate. During debates, members put their experience to good use to discuss current issues and draw the government's attention to concerns.     

Members speaking

Members speaking in the debate included:

Lord Whitty (Labour), former non-executive director of the Environment Agency
Lord Hastings of Scarisbrick (Crossbench), vice president of UNICEF
Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green), former Deputy Mayor of London
Lord Deben (Conservative), chair of the UK's Committee on Climate Change.

Opening the debate, Lord Krebs said:

'In March, the Climate Change Committee said that England is not prepared for climate risks and we have lost a decade to inaction. We know that climate adaptation is not a priority for this Government, because when the Prime Minister set out his five key priorities for 2023, climate change was not among them.'

Lord Callanan (Conservative), Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, responded on behalf of the government:

'The publication of the Third National Adaptation Programme marks a step change in the UK government’s approach to climate adaptation, putting in place an ambitious programme of decisive action for the next five years across all sectors of the economy and society.'