The UK could prosper as an attractive and low risk location for businesses in the coming decades, but only if it acts now to importve the resilience of its infrastructure to the impacts of climate change.

That is the conclusion of a major new report from Engineering the Future, an alliance of professional engineering organisations tasked by the government with assessing the UK’s ability to cop with rising average temperatures and increased weather-related risks.

The report, entitled ‘Infrastructure, Engineering and Climate Change Adaptation - ensuring services in an uncertain future, argues climate change represents an economic opportunity for the UK as stable, long-term mitigation and adaptation policies would set the country apart from countries that are more vulnerable to climate-related risks.

“Adaptation will require new systems designed for the new climate, and UK businesses can capitalise if they can provide and demonstrate innovative solutions, taking a leading position globally in engineering for adaptation,” the Defra-commissioned report states.

However, it also warns that without urgent action to improve climate resilience, changing weather patterns will heap pressure on the UK’s energy, transport, water and communications infrastructure.

The report cites climate models that predict average summer temperatures in the UK could rise four degrees Celsius by 2080, making extreme heatwaves the norm, while rainfall could fall as much as 27 per cent and sea levels in London could rise by 36cm.

It argues that such fundamental changes to the climate will present huge challenges to infrastructure and could spark ‘cascade failure’ where the collapse of one piece of infrastructure impacts another. For example, if flood defences are breached at a power station, the ensuing power cuts would knock out telecommunications networks and impact water supplies.

The report calls for better collaboration, planning and sharing of information between sectors to ensure improved resilience is built into new infrastructure.

“Climate change is a genuine risk,”said Lord Browne of Madingley, president of the Royal Academy of Engineering and former BP chief executive. “While efforts must continue towards mitigating its effects, we need to think very carefully about how we adapt to the changing climatic conditions that are anticipated over the coming century. In the long term protecting our critical national infrastructure is ultimately about protecting the UK economy and its future growth.”

The report also notes that the government and public are unlikely to write a blank cheque for funding adaptation measures and as such maintaining current levels of service while increasing investment in adaptation could prove unaffordable.

It warns tough decisions will have to be made by political and business leaders on how to prioritise spending to protect against the greatest climate risks the UK  faces.

Politicians have already made a start on delivering a national climate adapatation plan with the publication of a National Infrastructure Plan, while Defra’s forthcoming climate adaptation strategy is expected to be shaped by reports from over 90 organisations detailing how climate change could impact their operations.

The first seven reports, including submissions from Network Rail, National Grid and the Highways Agency, were published last month and, like today’s report, will be fed into the Defra led cross-Government Infrastructure and Adaptation project.

“Protecting and adapting infrastructure is crucial to our way of life,” said Lord Henley, the environment minister responsible for climate change adaptation. “Taking measures now in the energy, water, transport and communications sectors will not only save money, but also save lives.”