Independent advisory group publishes advice for mobilising adaptation and resilience investment in the UK
by | December 18, 2024
London, December 18, 2024: The independent Land, Nature and Adapted Systems (LNAS) Advisory Group has today released its second and final report, providing a framework to define adaptation and resilience enabling investments to mobilise adaptation finance and increase the nation’s resilience to escalating climate risks.
Globally, increasingly frequent and extreme weather events and chronic risks from rising sea levels and coastal erosion threaten lives and economies.[1] The message is clear, no region is immune to the mounting pressure of climate change and adaptation is essential in a 1.5°C, or warmer, world. In this report titled “Framework to develop a UK Green Taxonomy for adaptation and resilience,” LNAS proposes a five-step approach to defining adaptation investments and establishing practical, outcome-focused criteria.
The LNAS Advisory Group, spun off from the Green Technical Advisory Group (GTAG), was tasked with advising His Majesty’s Government on how to develop adaptation and resilience within a UK Green Taxonomy.
In the absence of national adaptation goals, a well-defined, government-backed adaptation taxonomy can help identify and scale effective resilience building solutions. Research by Impax Asset Management found that adaptation sectors collectively delivered total cumulative returns 16.3% higher than the market over the past five years.[2] The role of the taxonomy is to help financial institutions understand physical climate risks, collaborate on resilience solutions, and identify opportunities in adaptation-enabling technologies—ranging from advanced forecasting tools, water efficient irrigation systems and parametric insurance products to nature-based solutions. To illustrate how the framework can work in practice, the report includes a “cities and settlements” example, demonstrating how to address critical risks such as urban heat stress and flooding.
Dr Robert Bradburne, Chair of the LNAS Advisory Group, says:
“Adaptation is a necessity. By clarifying what qualifies as an adaptation and resilience-enabling investment, a UK Green Taxonomy can give financial institutions the confidence and guidance needed to invest at the scale and speed these challenges demand.”
Ingrid Holmes, Executive Director at the Green Finance Institute and former Chair of the UK’s Green Technical Advisory Group, says:
“To date no country has yet developed an adaptation taxonomy that starts with the outcome we need to see – which is a real economy adapted to the climate change that is already here and yet to come. The first principles-based approach described in this paper aims to do just that, providing a framework to support the mobilisation of finance into resilience and adaptation-focused investment, starting with the built environment.”
In November 2024 the UK Government announced a consultation on the value case of a UK Green Taxonomy; it has identified sustainable finance as one of the five priority growth opportunities for the UK.
[1] https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-flash-floods-in-south-eastern-spain/
[2] https://www.smithschool.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2023-07/Mission-Climate-Ready-Unleashing-finance-and-investment-REPORT_1.pdf
