The UK Climate Resilience Programme ran from 2019 to 2023

UKCR academics contribute to Third Climate Change Risk Assessment

Academics involved in the SPF UK Climate Resilience Programme (UKCR) have contributed to the Independent Assessment of UK Climate Risk for the third Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA3). The independent report, led by the Climate Change Committee (CCC), was published on 16 June and is the focus of a UKCR webinar on Wednesday.

At least 18 researchers from the UKCR programme, which is led jointly by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the Met Office, are cited in the acknowledgements for the report, which is a comprehensive review of the risks and opportunities facing the UK from climate change.

The project had input from over 450 experts from 130 organisations and produced an independent report setting out the Committee’s advice to Government. This was informed by a 1500-page Technical Report from a team of experts led by the University of Exeter in partnership with the Met Office, collating the latest evidence across a range of key sectors. It included significant research undertaken by the UK Climate Resilience Programme.

The webinar on Wednesday 30 June (12.00-13.00) features presentations by the Technical Report’s lead authors, Richard Betts (University of Exeter and Met Office) and Kathryn Brown (the CCC), who is on the Steering Committee for the UK Climate Resilience Programme.

Richard Betts, who is Chair in Climate Impacts at the University of Exeter Global Systems Institute and Head of Climate Impacts Research at the Met Office Hadley Centre, was part funded by the UKCR programme to work closely with colleagues whose work underpinned the CCRA3 analysis, particularly those involved in UKCP18.

Other UKCR authors to the Technical Report are Rachel Brisley (principal investigator, Climate Information to Inform UK Decision-making), Sari Kovats (Steering Committee) and Paul Watkiss (co-investigator, Climate Services Standards and Value).

The team who led the CCRA research projects, national summaries and factsheets included the UKCR’s Chris Counsell (co-investigator, EFlag), Jennifer Dicks (co-investigator, UK-SSPs), Kit England (OpenCLIM) and Paul Sayers (principal investigator, AquaCAT and co-investigator for OpenCLIM).

Members of the CCRA Customer Group included three current UKCR Steering Committee members, Elizabeth Bergere, Andrew Carr, and Tom Russon, and former Steering Committee member Rob Knowles. Ed Hawkins (principal investigator on Met Office-funded project on Improving Climate Hazard Information) and Rachel Warren (co-investigator, OpenCLIM) were members of the Expert Advisory Group.

The peer review panel also received input from UK Climate Resilience Programme co-Champion, Suraje Dessai, Nigel Arnell (principal investigator for UKCR projects on Climate Risk Indicators and  High Impact Scenarios and Storylines, and Rob Wilby (advisor to OpenCLIM and Climate Services Standards and Value, and co-investigator for Unlocking the potential of surface water flood nowcasting for emergency services in a changing climate).

A number of other UKCR researchers, including Jason Lowe,  Met Office Science Co-ordinator for the UK Climate Resilience Programme, were contributing authors to chapters of the report.

Places are still available for Wednesday’s webinar: sign up here to attend