CEN reacts to the CCC's report on the impacts of climate change

Kitty Thompson, Head of Campaigns for the Conservative Environment Network, said:

"Britain has never been more exposed to flooding. More concrete in our built environment and degraded soils on our farmland means less water is able to be absorbed by the land. This is bad for food security, our farmers, and the health of our rivers.

The CCC’s report shows we are adapting far too slowly to the impacts of climate change. Government cuts to the SFI and potential cuts to the nature-friendly farming and flood budgets in this spending review will prevent farmers and land managers from increasing their land’s resilience to flooding. They will be left to fight this battle alone and surrounding communities will face the consequences.

Not only should the government maintain these budgets, but it must go much further to support communities to reduce the impact of future flooding. The Planning and Infrastructure Bill is a great place to start. Amending the bill to give ponds permitted development rights and to require all new developments to have sustainable urban drainage systems will mean our land can hold more water, bolstering our food security and reducing the risk of flooding for communities across England."