The UK must adapt to extreme heat with widespread air conditioning, according to a landmark report from the Climate Change Committee (CCC). The government's climate advisers warn that British homes, hospitals, care homes and schools will need cooling systems to cope with predicted global heating, as measures like drawing curtains and opening windows are no longer sufficient.
The CCC recommends installing air conditioning in all care homes and hospitals within 10 years, and in all schools within 25 years. It also calls for a legal maximum temperature for working, both indoors and outdoors. The report states that the UK should prepare for 2°C of global heating by 2050, with heatwaves expected to exceed 40°C across the country, leading to up to 10,000 additional heat-related deaths annually.
Julia King, chair of the CCC's adaptation subcommittee, described extreme heat as the most immediate climate threat to life. 'We need to see cooling rolled out at scale,' she said. 'Sometimes this will mean shading, but sometimes it will mean air conditioning.' The report notes that around 90% of UK homes are likely to overheat, and suggests that households could designate one cool room for use during heatwaves.
However, air conditioning is energy-intensive, accounting for about 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The CCC advocates for efficient systems using heat pumps, which are already government-subsidised. Sam Alvis of the IPPR thinktank called for pairing air conditioning with rooftop solar panels, noting that 'air conditioning is actually a great pair for solar from an energy system point of view.'
The report warns that the climate crisis is already costing the UK about £60bn a year, or 2% of GDP, through flood damages and crop losses. It highlights that 7 million properties at risk of flooding could increase by 40% by 2050, and river flows could drop by a third in summer, causing daily water shortages of 5 billion litres. 'The UK was built for a climate that no longer exists today,' the report concludes, urging urgent adaptation measures including natural and concrete flood defences, and new reservoirs.
