Following the flash floods in 2021 and the 40 degree heatwave in 2022, the Mayor of London commissioned an independent review to take stock and make recommendations to guide London’s preparations for more extreme weather.
The London Climate Resilience Review has now published an interim report.
The Review gathered evidence from individuals, communities and organisations including the NHS, Transport for London, London Fire Brigade, the Metropolitan Police, Borough Councils, the GLA, UK Government, NGOs, the financial services sector, sports and cultural institutions.
The report sets out 20 recommendations which call for strategic, delivery, capacity building or investment actions. The Review has indicated high-level timeframes for recommendations.
Recommendations are directed to stakeholders across London, including the Mayor of London, UK government, local authorities and the community and voluntary sector.
The Review’s full report will be published later in 2024 and will include the Review’s full findings and complete set of recommendations. We are keen to hear any feedback on this interim report by 16 February 2024.
Emma Howard Boyd CBE, Chair of the Review, said:
“London has many good plans and programmes to prepare for climate hazards but we need to recognise that Londoners now face lethal risks, and a step change is needed. Last year was the hottest on record and this is causing chaos and disruption all over the world. London is not immune, as shown by the flash floods in 2021 and a 40-degree heatwave in 2022.
“I am really pleased that the Mayor has agreed to support an exercise to prepare for even more severe heatwaves than we saw in 2022. This is a positive step that will help London organisations plan to protect more Londoners in future shocks.
“In the absence of national leadership, regional government has a more significant role to play. We need pace not perfection. It’s time for the UK, led by its cities and regions, to take action and prioritise adaptation. That is an opportunity to make the UK economy more climate resilient, to protect the most vulnerable, to preserve all that we love about London and to show leadership to other cities nationally and globally.”
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said:
“I would like to thank Emma Howard Boyd, the Review team and everyone who has contributed to this Interim Report and its recommendations.
“Work led by City Hall and London Boroughs has long been underway to prepare the capital for the increasing frequency and intensity of climate risks, like flooding, heatwaves and drought. However, the harsh truth is that the increasing frequency and intensity of these events and a lack of action by the Government has left our city - and nation - vulnerable to extreme weather.
“I welcome these recommendations and have proposed in my latest Budget an additional £3 million to accelerate climate adaptation work in London. We will be looking at how we can take forward the recommendations identified so far and urging others, especially Government, to do the same.
“I can also confirm today that the London Resilience Partnership will carry out an exercise later this year to test London’s preparedness for a severe heat episode and that my green finance programme will begin work to consider how adaptation finance, including nature-based solutions, can be accelerated in early 2024.”
About the London Climate Resilience Review
Making sure London is ready for floods, storms, extreme heat and drought is important for national security and a chance to build a fairer society, improving all Londoners’ lives and livelihoods.
In the record-breaking 40°C heat of 2022, schools were closed, hospital operations were cancelled as systems crashed and wildfires caused the busiest day for the London Fire Brigade since the Second World War.
London is also vulnerable to flash flooding because of the large number of hard surfaces across the city. This affects homes and critical services such as hospitals, schools, and Underground stations.
The National Adaptation Programme sets the actions that government and others will take to adapt to the challenges of climate change in England. Adapting London to the increasing risk of climate change is a Mayoral priority. Significant work is already underway to help make London a more climate resilient city.
London has a range of Mayoral delivery programmes to support immediate action plus plans and strategies to support long-term planning for the impacts of climate change. These include The London Environment Strategy, The London Resilience Strategy and The London Plan.
As well as actions from the Mayor, London boroughs are also taking significant steps to help London and Londoners adapt to our changing climate. The London Councils climate programme includes actions to develop the resilience London needs to cope with the extreme weather events that come more frequently and severely with climate change. You can read more about their programme here.
Despite action, climate hazards are increasing in severity, frequency, and duration. As the climate changes we learn more about how we should prepare, and this affects our long-term decision-making. For example, London is well protected from tidal flooding by the Thames barrier and other flood defences. But sea levels are rising. Today, effective monitoring of sea level rise means we know the deadline for raising flood defences upstream of the Thames Barrier is 2050. This has changed from 2065 in the original plan that was published a decade ago.
In 2023 the Mayor of London commissioned an independent review to take stock and make recommendations to guide London’s preparations for more extreme weather. London is plagued by inequality and it is also one of the greatest cities in the history of the world, full of opportunity, innovation, and enterprise. The Review seeks to identify actions we can take to make full use of London’s strengths, ensuring the whole city is climate ready. It also aims to understand, in some cases, what is stopping those actions from happening already.
The independent Chair of the London Climate Resilience Review is Emma Howard Boyd CBE, Chair of the Green Finance Institute and UN Global Ambassador for the Race to Resilience and Race to Zero.
The Review has been provided with substantial evidence from national, regional and local organisations and communities who play interconnecting roles in London's day-to-day activities. Because of the volume of evidence provided the team have decided to produce an interim report followed by a full report later in 2024.
This shorter report features headline findings about key strategic opportunities and gaps in London's preparations for the impacts of more severe flooding, storms, extreme heat, drought and other risks. The full report and assessment of London’s climate resilience, as well as further recommendations, will be published later in 2024.
Evidence submitted to the Review has been considered by the team and will inform both the interim report and the full report.