The Climate Change Committee was established under the Climate Change Act 2008 and advises the UK and devolved governments on reducing emissions and adapting to the impacts of climate change.
You can view the Fourth UK Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA4-IA) report below. The final report is due to be laid in Parliament by the UK Government in January 2027.
Professor Dann Mitchell, from the School of Geographical Sciences, has co-led the health and wellbeing chapter. Working in collaboration with the University of Exeter, they have examined how changes in weather extremes such as heatwaves can be linked to human-induced climate change, and how these changes translate into real-world impacts across the UK.
Professor Mitchell said “The higher UK health burden from increasing temperatures is a narrative that is even starker now, even in the colder climates of Scotland. We see thousands of deaths per year during heatwaves, and evidence is emerging from a much longer-term health burden consistent with exposure to persistent increases in heat, such as changes in sleep patterns and neurological diseases”.
Professor Guy Howard, from the School of Civil Aerospace and Design Engineering, co-led the risks to water supply and wastewater systems section of the infrastructure chapter. Contributing expertise on environmental health and water systems, focusing on how climate change impacts water security, sanitation and public health resilience.
Professor Howard adds “The assessment of water and wastewater supplies shows that climate change is posing an increasing risk to this key part of our public health infrastructure. While actions are being taken by water companies, much more is needed to provide confidence in the resilience of our services. There is a particular problem for what are called ‘private water supplies’ on which around one million households across the UK rely, and many more people use when they visit holiday premises such as caravan parks. Much more investment and support from local and national governments across the four nations is required to build resilience of private supplies”.
Key findings highlight:
- Climate change is causing serious impacts on the UK. Climate change is already having significant negative impacts across the UK, and there will be further impacts in the future, although the severity will vary between nations.
- Climate risks to the UK are now higher than in CCRA3-IA Technical Report. This is based on new evidence of accelerating changes in climate, evidence of potential increases in exposure and/or vulnerability, and a lack of adaptation progress.
- CCRA4-IA assesses 41 risks and 2 opportunities. By 2050, under a 2 °C warming scenario, almost one third of the risks are assessed as being Very High magnitude.
- A new category of ‘Very High magnitude’ has been added to the assessment to quantify impacts in the order of billions of pounds of economic damages per year, thousands of deaths per year, or the loss of species groups.
- Many overseas climate change risks have important consequences for the UK. Climate change impacts overseas are having damaging effects on the UK.
- Adaptation plans do not significantly change the assessed magnitude for most risks and are not keeping pace with climate change.
- Almost one third of the risks require Critical investigation. New scientific evidence has reduced uncertainty in many sectors, but there are significant evidence gaps or uncertainties.