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; wildfires across Australia and the USA, devastating floods in Pakistan, intense heat waves across Europe, and widespread drought across Africa are all a consequence of climate driven weather change. The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, said: “The world faces unavoidable multiple climate hazards over the next two decades with global warming of 1.5°C.”

And, whilst the climate emergency is a global emergency, its effects will be felt locally.

In the North East right now, though we are aware of these issues and starting to feel the effect of climate change, - who can forget Storm Desmond or Thunder Thursday and the Toon Monsoon? - we are in some ways still shielded from what other parts of the globe are experiencing. We live in a fantastic part of the country, and even at a time of global economic challenges our towns and cities are vibrant, and we have a modern economy with new emerging technologies. We have a world recognised workforce, good infrastructure, fantastic transport networks, renowned universities, and outside our towns and cities we have some of the best countryside in the land.

But we know that climate change will pose a risk to our people and our region. Experience elsewhere shows that more regular and increased rainfall will increase the risk of flooding, threatening homes, and businesses, with subsequent domestic and economic hardship compromising peoples’ well-being. Likewise heat waves and increased air pollution may increase the risk of heat stroke and respiratory illness for the more vulnerable in our communities. Our wonderful green spaces may come under more pressure as extreme weather threatens nature and we find people, businesses and communities competing for space and water. And our infrastructure may decline as roads and rails buckle in the heat or drainage networks wash away.

All these factors could affect our economy and have an effect on our local infrastructure and placing pressure on Local Authorities who may struggle to meet the increasing demands on their services

So, whilst mitigation is essential to reduce the amount of carbon we produce and is crucial to limiting temperature rise, it is also the case that climate related change is with us now and that if we are to tackle the climate emergency successfully, we must adjust and prepare for the inevitable impacts that climate change will bring. We call this adaptation.

Adaptation means tackling the effects of climate change by making our people, our places, our infrastructure, and our economy resilient to its impacts. We need to make adaptation integral to our regions’ businesses, local government, and communities. It needs to form part of all our decision-making processes and our investment decisions; it is much cheaper to invest early in climate resilience than to live with the costs of inaction.

The Environment Agency is taking a lead in the way we adapt to climate change. At the heart of this is our ambition for our nation to be resilient to climate change and across the North East (region) we are at the forefront of this. Our teams maintain £733m of assets which deliver nearly £6 billion of benefits by protecting homes and businesses from fluvial flooding and coastal erosion in our region. By March 2027 we will have overseen another £330M of investment. In addition to this infrastructure investment, we are involved in several innovative projects too; improving community and business resilience to flooding through a unique engagement approach, working with partners to deliver projects which tackle the nature and climate emergencies together, and securing funding for innovative adaptation approaches. Some of these projects are highlighted as case studies on this website, so please take a look.

Significant climate impacts are inevitable, but we can successfully tackle the climate emergency if we do the right things. Successful adaptation will require investment, support for low carbon economic interventions and the development of new economic partnerships; But it will also require us to think

differently, collaborate and show leadership to strengthen resilience and secure the future for the next generation.

Here in the North East, we are rightly proud of our region. We have a long history of innovation, a strong sense of community and of stepping up to the plate. At the heart of all this is our ability to collaborate, and NZNEE is a perfect example of that, which is why I am so proud to be a member of this fantastic initiative.

Our climate is changing; we must change faster.