Climate Adaptation and Resilience
The climate is changing and the impacts will be felt into the future, even if CO2 emissions are reduced significantly. Therefore, action on climate change must include preparing for and adjusting to the impacts of climate change.
In general, the climate change impacts that are expected in Bath and North East Somerset are:
- Warmer, wetter winters
- Hotter, drier summers
- Increase in frequency and severity of extreme weather events
These impacts give rise to a number of hazards including, but not limited to extreme high temperatures, drought and water stress, flood events, subsidence and soil erosion; and a number of associated risks including impacts to human health, damage and degradation to the built environment or interruption to utility services and impacts to the natural environment reducing resilience and the ability to provide societal benefits.
The principle of the policy is to ensure development within the district is designed to cope with the effects of climate change, both now and in the future, including both the expected and potential climate risks, to ensure development is suitable for its lifetime use and for the future liveability and sustainability of the district. We will also be reviewing a range of policies to ensure they align and are consistent with the climate adaptation and resilience policy requirements and objectives including policies relating to sustainable construction, water efficiency, design, historic environment and infrastructure.
C:/CAR Climate Adaptation and Resilience – Proposed Options
| No | Options | Advantages | Disadvantages |
| 1 | New development proposals, including proposals for infrastructure, will need to demonstrate that its vulnerability to climate change has been taken into consideration and how it has been designed to be resilient to the effects of climate change over the full lifetime of the development. | New development within the district will be designed and built to be resilient to the effects of climate change. | Viability considerations (to be tested). |