Home Office: Climate Change
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the cost to her Department of extreme weather related to climate change since 1 January 2020.
Answered by Sarah Jones
The government’s third UK Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA3), published in 2021 under the UK Climate Change Act 2008, includes a Monetary Valuation of Risks and Opportunities assessment of the current and future costs of climate change to the UK. A 2022 study from LSE’s Grantham Institute estimates that with current policies, the total UK cost of climate damage is equivalent to 1.1% of GDP currently.
For estimating future costs of extreme weather, decisions on key government spending are subject to clear requirements through the Green Book. This includes supplementary guidance which covers the impacts of climate change, i.e. accounting for the effects of climate change. This ensures that policies, programmes and projects are resilient to the effects and future costs of climate change, and that such effects are being taken fully into account when appraising policy options.
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