| Environment
programme back in 2020, saying it wanted to ‘push back the flood waters’ with ‘record investment’. In addition to reducing these numbers from 336,000
to 200,000 by 2027, the EA is also removing 500 of the 2000 new flood defence projects that were originally included in the programme. This is despite government doubling its capital funding in England during 2021-7 to £5.2 billion to combat the danger of flooding. In the first two years of the government’s six-year flood and coastal erosion management programme, EA has improved protection from floods for 59,000 properties in England against a commitment when the programme was announced of better protecting 336,000 by 2027.
Upon assessment, the EA said that maintaining 98% of its high consequence assets at their required condition at a cost of £235 million would provide the best value for money. However, a shortfall of £34 million in its annual resource funding for 2022-23 meant that EA would only be able to maintain 94%- 95% of its assets at the required condition – resulting in 203,000 properties at increased risk of flooding. Although this is not a directly comparable figure, it exceeds the 200,000 properties that are forecast to be better protected through the capital programme. The NAO report also warns that the EA is failing
to meet its maintenance targets but neither the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) or the EA assessed whether using part of the capital underspend to meet the shortfall in its maintenance budget in 2022-23, would provide better value for money than deferring it to later in the capital programme. The NAO recommends that Defra, the EA, and HM
Treasury work together to ensure that decisions on the current capital programme are not influenced by short- term funding periods and targets and are focused on maximising value for money. They also need to ensure that decisions can be taken quickly to switch money from the capital programme (which funds new projects) into the maintenance budget where this provides value for money. The report concludes that, although the government’s vision for flood resilience stretches to the year 2100 and EA has several strategic objectives for 2050, it has not set a target for the level of flood resilience it expects to achieve, nor has it mapped out any concrete plans beyond 2026 to bridge the gap between its shorter-term actions and long-term objectives. Thus making it difficult for the government to make rational and informed decisions about its priorities, measure its progress or plan effective investment for the long-term. “Government recognises the growing dangers from flooding and has committed to doubling its capital funding in England in the six years to 2027, as well as doing more to understand flood risk. However, the capital funding is forecast to better protect only 60% of properties that were promised when the programme was launched in 2020, while inflation and other programme risks mean the Environment Agency could deliver even fewer than that,” Head of the NAO Gareth Davies said.
Davies also warned that the EA will have to manage
a record level of capital investment in flood defences for the remaining four years of the programme. However he cautions that in doing so, it must resist
pressure to accelerate projects or initiate new ones too quickly if this is likely to lead to cost overruns and delays, putting value for money at risk. Responding to the report, NIC Commissioner Hall said:
““The current focus on short term funding settlements will also do little to bolster efforts to properly maintain flood defences over the longer term and ensure they remain fit for purpose in the face of an evolving climate threat. The need for the Environment Agency to have greater certainty over its long-term funding is clear.”
Key role The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)
and World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) have released their first joint report to strengthen understanding of renewable energy resources and their intricate relationship with climate variability and change. Launched at COP28 in December 2023, the report called 2022 Year in Review: Climate-driven Global Renewable Energy Potential Resources and Energy Demand, highlights the key role of weather and climate information in meeting the untapped potential and challenges in the transition to renewable energy. IRENA Director-General Francesco La Camera said: “Renewables are critical to achieving a successful energy transition and are a powerful catalyst for mitigating climate change. To stay on the 1.5°C climate pathway, global renewable capacity must triple by 2030. It is also essential that policy makers proactively future-proof energy infrastructure and assets, to account for the impacts of climate change and resulting growing demand.” The report highlights the importance of understanding how changes in weather patterns could impact the potential capacity of wind, solar and hydropower. The analysis also shows how climate change will impact energy supply and demand, particularly in the context of heating and cooling. The assessment is seen as being an initial step
towards a more rigorous evaluation of climate’s role in renewable energy supply and demand, and can be used both as a retrospective analysis and to aid future decision-making. Ultimately, the report says, policy makers, energy
planners and resource managers, as well as grid operators, will need comprehensive data and analysis to fully understand the magnitude and patterns of observed variations in resources and demand. It also says that mainstreaming climate into operation, management and planning of energy resources should be a priority. This could lead to the establishment of early warning systems to help better manage energy load, resources, and maintenance. Moreover, this can inform energy infrastructure modernisation and expansion and trigger the necessary innovation across technologies, markets, and policies. While comprehensive and systematic energy data collection and sharing are essential to improving knowledge and understanding of climate variability and change on energy supply and demand. IRENA and the WMO have worked closely together
to outline for policy makers, energy planners, resource managers and grid operators alike, the intricate connections of energy indicators at the global and regional levels. The report is the first in a regular annual series as the two organisations strengthen their collaboration in support of climate action.
Above: Headquarters of the World Meteorological Organisation in Switzerland. The organisation is working with the International Renewable Energy Agency to provide greater insight into the links between renewable energy resources and the weather and climate Editorial credit: B7 Photography /
Shutterstock.com
References https://www.
worldweatherattribution.org/ interplay-of-climate-change- exacerbated-rainfall-exposure- and-vulnerability-led-to- widespread-impacts-in-the- mediterranean-region/
https://www.nao.org.uk/reports/ government-resilience-extreme- weather/
https://nic.org.uk/news/jim-hall- clear-national-standards-vital- to-improved-extreme-weather- resilience/
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