Contents
2. The need for a framework to monitor progress on adaptation
The CCC has statutory obligations to monitor progress in responding to climate risks and opportunities.
- The Climate Change Act (2008) requires the Adaptation Committee to report to UK Parliament on progress in delivering the National Adaptation Programme (NAP) every two years. This programme covers devolved adaptation policy areas for England and reserved policy areas for the whole of the UK.
- In Scotland, the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 places a duty on ministers to lay a programme for climate change adaptation following each UK Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA). The Act also requires an annual report on progress and for the CCC to independently report on progress every two years.
- In Northern Ireland, The Climate Change Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 requires the Committee to provide an adaptation progress assessment no later than three years into each five-year cycle of the Northern Ireland Climate Change Adaptation Programme (NICCAP).
- The Committee can also be requested by the Welsh Government to produce adaptation progress reports for Wales.
Progress reporting on adaptation is important to highlight areas where the delivery and planning of adaptation actions are proceeding well but also areas that are lagging behind what is needed. This can then inform forward-looking adaptation planning within Government, helping to close delivery gaps and promote good practice. Independent progress reports, which are made public, also enable other organisations, such as arms-length bodies, NGOs, businesses and research institutions to utilise the findings to develop the wider evidence base on tackling climate change.