More than 70% of the sites in the care of the National Trust are set to face medium or high-risk climate-related hazards by 2060 without “urgent and large-scale action”.
In A Climate for Change: Adaptation and the National Trust, it outlined what it plans to do to tackle the climate and nature crises, as well as what help it needs from government moving forwards to carry this out. In the short-term, flooding, wildfires, drought and coastal erosion represent key challenges to the Trust, while extreme weather will threaten wildlife habitats and increase humidity over the longer term. This will make it harder to care for artworks and collections at different Trust sites. Visiting patterns will also change. This could see visitors opting for coastal places over the summer during hotter weather, for example, instead of inland historic estates.
For its part, the Trust is pledging to embed climate resilience and adaptive measures in all areas of its work; future proof projects and programmes to face an uncertain climate future; work with all of its places and teams to understand the impacts from a changing climate they are already seeing as well as what can be expected in future; and continue using its voice to ensure climate change adaptation across England, Wales and Northern Ireland gets the attention that it needs.
As for what is needed from government, it went on to map out a series of common actions that should be in place across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, beginning with effective legal frameworks, targets and duties for climate adaptation.
This could include a Climate Resilience Bill to ensure that climate adaptation policy gets the attention and action it deserves, with this incorporating national targets for adaptation being set across the UK; a statutory duty being placed on public bodies to make climate adaptation a key factor in decision making across the UK and into regions; and a minister for climate adaptation, either in the Cabinet Office or the Treasury, and a cross-cabinet committee on climate adaptation.
Further recommendations include climate-responsive local planning frameworks and great collaboration between public bodies, as well as policy and funding to help key sectors to adapt and deliver change.
For example, all national governments need to ensure that funding and support is available to help both the sectors set to be most severely impacted by climate change and to help those who can make the most meaningful contribution to be able to do so.
This means ensuring agricultural funding schemes are designed to properly reward farmers and land managers for delivering public goods; making funding and support available for nature-based adaptation; providing more support for the tourism sector; ensuring private businesses have access to the finance they need to adapt their premises and for ways of working for the future; and investing in capacity building and expertise for the green jobs of tomorrow.
It also wants to see investment in better data and research, with the Trust declaring its support for the creation of one or several adaptation observatories that can monitor the changing climate as it develops.
