Informing UK governance of resilience to climate risks: improving the local evidence-base

Using an analysis of the United Kingdom's (UK) decision-makers managing and responding to heatwaves and flood risks, this paper argues how more robust local evidence is needed to inform decision-making regarding adaptation options for enhancing local resilience. The authors identify evidence gaps and issues relating to local climate change impacts, including sources and quality of evidence used, adequacy and accessibility of evidence available, ill-communicated evidence and conflicting or misused evidence.

A lack of appreciation regarding how scientific evidence and personal judgement can mutually enhance the quality of decision-making, underpins all of these gaps. Additionally, the authors find that the majority of evidence currently used is reductively based upon socio-economic and physical characteristics of climate risks. They argue that a step change is needed in local climate resilience that moves beyond current physical and socio-economic risk characterisation to a more inclusive co-constitution of social and politically defined climate risks at the local scale that is better aligned with the local impacts felt and needs of stakeholders.