Q&A responses at CCRA4 Independent Assessment (CCRA4-IA) Technical Report Webinar (15 July 2024)

Q&A responses - CCRA4-IA Technical Report Webinar

Responses to unanswered questions posed as part of the Q&A session

I note the repeated reference to the academic sector in the presentation. This sector is not always known for its understanding of what is happening on the ground. How are you going to engage with practitioners and delivery organisations who are likely to have greater insights? 

Whilst our consortium largely comprises members of the academic community there is also representation from both the private and third sector. Our work will involve reviewing a wide range of material – not just that captured in the academic literature. We will also be engaging with practitioners through a range of existing bodies (e.g. Infrastructure operators adaptation forum IOAF) as well as directly through the Call for Evidence. 

Where do regulatory and key statutory public bodies fit in e.g. national public health agencies? Will there be workshops for statutory/key public bodies who will be key delivery partners?  

Each of the chapters are currently developing stakeholder engagement plans that seek to illicit information from all the relevant stakeholders. These plans will be tailored to reflect the unique characteristics of the stakeholders with whom they need to engage, as well as taking into consideration those pre-existing fora which may represent opportunities to engage.  

How will Adaptation Reporting Power (ARP) reporting rounds feed into future risk assessments?  

Information from the ARPs is an important source of evidence for Climate Change Risk Assessments (CCRA). The authors of the Fourth Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA4) will draw on any material from ARP3 not fully used in CCRA3 and also material supplied towards ARP4 (due by the end of 2024). We note the consultation process on future ARPs and welcome the intention to achieve better alignment with future CCRAs.

Do you know yet the timeframes for the two other calls for evidence after this September?  

Details are yet to be confirmed but there is an expectation that there will be an additional call in the autumn with a final call in the spring of 2025. 

Where do local authorities fit into this approach as we are essential in the translation from policy and research into pragmatic local delivery? 

Local authorities absolutely hold a lot of information about resilience from what is happening across the country. So we definitely see them as being able to provide useful input. We are already plugged into a fair few local authorities as well as other existing networks with which they are engaged. We also recognise that they will be users of the Technical Report so will bear this community in mind when considering the form that the outputs take.  

We know it’s mostly risk. we have found 'some' opportunities especially in the visitor sector but it’s only an opportunity when we plan for it otherwise it’s a risk. will there be a recognition here?  

The scope covers both risks and opportunities and we are definitely thinking about how best to capture opportunities. This is a point of current discussion as we look to finalise the methodology. 

What are the timelines for delivery the two subsequent (Well-adapted UK report & Statutory advice report) outputs? 

All of the main outputs from the CCRA4 Independent Assessment and the Climate Change Committee’s (CCC) statutory advice are planned for publication in Q2, 2026. These will then inform the UK Governments CCRA which will need to be laid in parliament by end of Jan 2027.

Has the stakeholder mapping addressed the devolved nations? 

Yes – if you have any specific requests, ideas or concerns please get in touch via emailing [email protected].

Is the well adapted UK report more of a visioning piece to help us understand what being well adapted looks like or a policy report to detail what policies are required in order to reach that goal? 

The Well-Adapted UK report will provide evidence on effective adaptation for a subset of priority risks – including what “well-adapted” looks like in relation to that risk and a proposed set of associated targets. The statutory advice report will set out the CCC’s recommendations on the policies required to deliver effective adaptation. 

Will there be any attempt to quantify adaptation investment in different sectors and/or places? 

The Well-Adapted UK report will provide evidence on effective adaptation for a subset of priority risks – including quantifying the investment need for delivering effective adaptation. Where possible, this will be disaggregated into the four UK nations.  

Will you be making more structural recommendations to central Government, e.g. how Cabinet Committees are set up to ensure all impacted Departments are engaged and represented? In the past there's been a bit of a disconnect between the ambition and announcements of the Cabinet Office/No10 and responsibility/deliverability. 

The CCC’s Statutory Advice report will provide advice to government on how to deliver effective adaptation. This may include recommendations on appropriate governance arrangements. 

How will the various products approach making recommendations for action? What level of detail do you aspire to go to? And will you take different approaches in communicate action for government and actions beyond government? 

A key requirement for this work is to ensure that the products are both useful and usable for the risk owners and wider stakeholders. This has been reinforced by a recent piece of work that has considered the way in which CCRA3 has been used by a range of different stakeholders. Over the course of the summer we will be working with the CCC to establish the nature of the core products to be issued as part of CCRA4.  

Will there be consideration of how the adaptation and resilience elements will tie into the new UNFCCC Global Goal on Adaptation and the 7 thematic areas that have been set out to drive action? 

The 2015 Paris Agreement (Article 7) established the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) for enhancing adaptive capacity, strengthening resilience and reducing vulnerability to climate change, and there has been progress towards implementing it at recent United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of Parties (CoP). However there remain many aspects that still need to be established, including agreeing quantifiable measurable targets. The CCRA authors will keep a watching brief on progress at CoP29 but do not have specific plans related to providing comments on the GGA. There is overlap between the chapters in CCRA4 and the thematic areas related to the GGA. 

Webinar resources

Please keep up this conversation 

You can get in touch with us as follows:   

  • Reach out directly to the appropriate Chapter Lead or provide overarching feedback to the CCRA4 team: [email protected].