Only 20 of 6,600 staff at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) are working on climate adaptation, according to a report published on 12 August. Dr Amy McDonnell, co-executive director of Zero Hour, described this as a “shocking revelation” from a government that has repeatedly assured the public it understands the risk of the breakdown of nature and climate. “Clearly not,” she wrote in a letter to the Guardian.
Widespread Impacts of Extreme Heat
McDonnell highlighted that families are dealing with school closures, hospitals are cancelling appointments, wildfires continue to tear through the country, and more than 2,700 deaths have been recorded from extreme heat so far. Despite these challenges, she noted that adaptation remains “a tiny corner of one department.”
The Climate Change Committee has repeatedly warned the government in every progress report it produces, urging action. McDonnell questioned whether the impacts of ecosystem collapse and climate change have become “politically expendable” to ministers.
Criticism of Government Approach
McDonnell criticised the government’s approach, pointing to a “war on those pesky newts and bats” and Andy Burnham’s “endless game of ‘will he, won’t he’ over more oil and gas.” She argued that communities facing firewaves, floods and extreme drought do not want to hear what is already taking place but want to know what will change. Saying that the government is “already acting” does not match the scale of the crisis, she added, referencing the “UK’s first climate evacuees” reported on in February.
Calls for Structural Reform
McDonnell argued that climate adaptation is a “whole-of-government problem,” not just for one desk at Defra. She questioned why there is an AI minister around the Cabinet table but no resilience and adaptation minister, and why there is no dedicated commissioner with authority to ensure departments prepare for climate and nature breakdown risks. She also asked why no one is asking these questions in government.
