Skip to content

Adapting to change

As well as limiting future emissions, we must respond and adapt to the changes resulting from past emissions.

Responding to a changing environment

Significant storms and heatwaves have happened over the last few years as our climate has changed, impacting directly on homes, businesses, and communities. These changes will have a compound effect in areas like water availability and quality, and the loss of habitat for wildlife, having an additional indirect social and economic impact. 

Key risks in the North East have been identified as being flood related, however, there are a range of potential impacts requiring adaptation including: 

  • Heatwaves: protecting human health from temperature and responding to other risks such a changing disease patterns  
  • Habitat loss: managing habitat risk driven by changes to temperatures and the risks of invasive species disruption of eco-system of the region 
  • Subsidence associated with changing rainfall patterns  
  • Disrupted agriculture: including potential erosion, loss of nutrients and deterioration of soils 

What the evidence tells us

Our evidence base shows 3% of the North East LEP area is at high risk of flooding. Follow the link below to read our full evidence base.

Explore the evidence

Partner think piece

Cath Saxon-Wilkinson, North East Area Director of the Environment Agency and Net Zero North East England Board Member, explains why it’s so important we adapt quickly and prepare for the inevitable impacts that climate change will bring.

Read the think piece

Our assets

There are a range of assets and partnerships in the region which are focused on adaptation:

Partnership working

The Northumbria Integrated Drainage Partnership (NIDP) bring together authorities responsible for flood risk management in the North East, with a focus on long term investment. 

Flood defences

The Environment Agency maintains £733 million of assets protecting the North East from fluvial flooding and coastal erosion. The benefits of these defences to the region are estimated tobe worth almost £6 billion.

Protection against sudden torrential downpours

North East local authorities and Northumbrian Water have invested significant funds to protect properties and business from surface water and sewer flooding.

Kielder reservoir

This regional asset increases resilience to short term water supply risk across the North East.

Landowner assets

With the right direction and incentives, private, public and trust-based landowners have multiple assets which can help to manage risks in the North East. 

Expertise

Our universities and businesses have significant programmes and expertise in topics such as water and environmental risk management.

Challenges

  • Changes in the region’s biodiversity, species, habitats and soils
  • The risk of damage to infrastructure
  • A reduction in public and business water supplies 
  • The impact of extreme temperatures 
  • Greater frequency, extent and severity of flooding 
  • Sea level rise impacting coastal and estuary communities and businesses
  • Communicate the risks and potential impacts of climate change to increase understanding and responsibility for climate adaption and support preventative action. 
  • Continue development of data and analysis to address gaps in specific local evidence.
  • Align strategic objectives across government departments, local authority plans and industrial sectors.
  • Ensure corporate behaviour has a stronger focus on environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance.

Opportunities

  • Ongoing investment into flood defences. Current priorities along the Team Valley and Hexham industrial estates will improve the level of protection for hundreds of businesses and protect vital jobs and infrastructure, but further programmes will need development.
  • Continue to build on current collaborative innovation, such as the four regional projects that are part of the Government’s Flood and Coastal Resilience Innovation Programme investing in innovation to mitigate and adapt to climate change. 
  • Work with natural processes to mitigate through carbon sequestration and promote adaption. The North East Community Forest will deliver 500 hectares of woodland over the next five years and the Great Northumberland Forest is planning to plant a million trees by 2024. Other projects will support peat and wetlands.
  • Recover and enhance biodiversity with solutions to address climate change. The upcoming local Nature Recovery Networks will work to this remit and offer increased social and economic value to local communities.
  • Use the new Environmental Land Management Scheme (ELMS) to invest in a range of adaptation approaches, supporting land managers to respond to change and promote sustainability.
  • Ongoing analysis and response to funding requirements will increase and create incentive structures to encourage private and blended investment programmes.

What we are doing already

Many adaptation measures are already in place in the North East. These provide assurances and support and present opportunities to enable green growth and jobs in the North East - check out the examples below. If you are involved in or know of any other exciting projects in this space, we’d love to hear about them, so please get in touch.

Climate Adaptation

Climate Adaptation

As our planet is warming, our climate is changing. We already know what the effects of that change can be because they are already happening right before us;...
Read more