The latest assessments by government advisors on how well the UK is placed to deal with climate change have been supported by two important research reports prepared by AEA Technology plc.

According to the Adaptation Sub-Committee's (ASC) second progress report published on July 14, the UK is coping now, but near its limits in some key sectors and could be pushed over the edge by climate change.

The report from the ASC, a sub-committee of the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), also sets out a range of indicators against which the UK's progress will be measured. An AEA study supported this by making significant progress in developing a suite of outcome-focussed indicators that could help provide a measure of the UK‘s preparedness for climate impacts.

The project reviewed over 200 reports, studies and literature on impacts and adaptation relevant to the UK, and over 30 relevant datasets have been consolidated into a database that accompanies the report. The project has been a rigorous effort to draw together tangible indicators from existing datasets across five sectors and explore what is possible.

Find the AEA indicator report here

Another AEA report evaluated the risks posed by a changing climate and the implications for how the UK's carbon budgets will be tackled, providing evidence for the CCC's third progress report published last month.

This report examines the risks that climate change may present to the cost of delivering the UK's mitigation strategy. It also includes a practical framework for prioritising these risks to help inform future research efforts.

The study shows that there are many interactions between mitigating and adapting to climate change. The power sector in particular is both important for the mitigation efforts but also at risk from a changing climate.

Find the AEA climate risk report here