UKGBC has officially launched a consultation into a new UK Climate Resilience Roadmap for the built environment.
Ahead of a full industry report launch in March 2025, it has also released five key policy recommendations for government and policy makers as the UK faces more frequent and intense climate shocks like flooding and heatwaves.
Recommendations include making climate safety a national priority under the leadership of the Prime Minister, reform of the planning system and protecting communities with trees, parks and ponds.
UKGBC has also recommend ensuring existing homes and new buildings are fit for a more hazardous climate future. It has been co-creating the UK’s first resilience roadmap with leading experts from across the industry over the last year. Intended to be an informative, actionable, and evidence-based pathway, the roadmap will detail how the built environment can adapt to, and protect people from, a changing climate.
It held a first round of consultation on initial proposals in July 2024 and revised the proposals based on feedback. Now it is seeking input on these updated proposals and new additions, the final opportunity for industry to share perspectives on the guidance before it is published.
Following this second round of consultation, which closes on January 6, the new roadmap will be launched in March 2025 alongside a full policy recommendations report, technical report and interactive ‘vulnerability to climate hazards’ web map.
Smith Mordak, Chief Executive Officer at UKGBC, said: “Every day we feel the impacts of a fundamentally changed climate. From sharp increases in the prices of essentials to lives tragically cut short, we are all seeing climate change play out across our social and ecological systems. This makes it more urgent than ever to prioritise adaptation, and to fairly transition to a built environment that is not only sustainable, but resilient. Please add your voice to this crucial project.”
Hannah Giddings, Head of Resilience and Adaptation at UKGBC, said: “Global warming is making climate-related hazards like heatwaves and floods more frequent and severe. Current climate pledges and targets across the globe are predicted to limit global temperature increase to between 1.7 to 2.7 degrees Celsius by 2100, meaning that we can expect significant changes in weather patterns and the frequency of extreme weather events.
“These changes are predicted to cause harm, excess deaths, and socio-economic breakdown, which is why we need a built environment that prepares for, and responds to, these hazards. The UK Climate Resilience Roadmap project sets out our definition of what a climate-resilient built environment could be, and how the built environment industry plans to achieve it.
“We are now calling on industry to get involved and respond to the consultation so we can ensure the roadmap is useful, valuable and actionable for stakeholders across all sectors of the industry.”
