In this section you will learn about approaches that can be employed to adapt to the climate change impacts associated with business and the economy by the 2050s.

These approaches are intended to build resilience, limit negative impacts, and enable society and appropriate organisations to benefit from opportunities presented by the changing climate. As in the impacts section they address the following sub-sectors:

• Agriculture, forestry and fisheries;
• Tourism, leisure and culture;
• Manufacturing;
• Innovation and advanced technology;
• Retail;
• Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs); and
• Other areas important at the regional or at sub-regional levels.

 

 

Many responses to climate change which relate to office-based and service sector business overlap. Those adaptations which apply across sectors are raised together here. Individual sectors are addressed below. Strategic action to protect those areas critical to economic activity against flooding is considered in the Flooding section.

Core principles of climate adaptation, presented by UKCIP (2009), include that:

• climate impacts and opportunities can be addressed in much the same way as other business opportunities and threats; and
• planning ahead, and designing to adapt, is likely to be more cost-effective.

Concepts such as risk minimisation and contingency planning apply across the sectors, and all action to increase business resilience will apply to tackling climate change. At the strategic policy level, regional strategies and subsidiary documents should be regularly assessed against climate change projections to ensure that sectors receiving support and focus are climate adapted. Such assessments could take place within a wider sustainability assessment, but should be specific to the activity being promoted.

Regeneration activity throughout the region offers a good mechanism for building in climate adaptation at the earliest stages, and ensuring that developments are ‘future-proofed’. Mechanisms such as the Upper Calder Valley Renaissance Market Towns Scheme (West Yorkshire) could be used to spread information. Where public funding is being used to support expansion there should be a requirement that proposals demonstrate climate-proofing and measures to ensure long-term viability.

Actions which apply to all sectors, and can be progressed at the sectoral level, include:

• Acknowledge that the climate is changing, and that it will have effects;
• Identify climate change as a threat and/or opportunity in medium/long term planning and risk assessments;
• Align priority activities (eg regional action plans) with longer-term effects to allow early response to predictable market demands;
• Encourage detailed assessment by businesses and business sector organisations using tools such as UKCIP’s BACLIAT;
• Identify best practice examples and promote within and between sectors;
• Regional climate change activity should be coordinated by a single group, with business and other sub-groups facilitating information flow. Centralised resources such as this website could provide a source of relevant and trusted information.

At the sub-sectoral or individual organisation level a range of tools are available to help assess vulnerability to climate change, and to build resilience (eg UKCIP’s online Adaptation Wizard (www.ukcip.org.uk)). Further adaptations applicable to all businesses, and aligned with the BACLIAT headings used above, include:

• Premises
• Carry out simple vulnerability checks on existing buildings;
• Adopt higher building standards, accounting for projections of future conditions, and adapt new buildings to them (include potential secondary effects such as subsidence, and where necessary require ‘subsidence-resilient’ foundations);
• Adopt a spend-to-save approach to future investment, realigning finance mechanisms where necessary to enable climate adaptation to be retrofitted into existing, and designed into new, buildings;
• Adopt low energy, low carbon and decentralised technologies, including renewables and non-mechanical cooling, to increase future resilience and reduce long-term costs;
• In new and existing urban areas increase the use of shade trees and evaporative cooling from water features to minimise summer temperatures. Limit damage through adoption of buffer zones and management;
• Retrofit larger guttering where possible, and introduce measures to enhance the source control of rainwater, particularly in heavy rain events. Green roofs can also limit urban and building temperatures and their use should be encouraged;
• Enforce PPS25 and prevent inappropriate development in flood risk areas, and ensure the flood resilience of local businesses through preparing generic flood risk assessment templates for use in regular self-assessment;
• Promote the use of flood guards and local flood protection in vulnerable areas and for vulnerable industries. Guidance is available from several sources, including the Environment Agency (www.environment-agency.gov.uk/flood);
• People

• Measures above to limit rising temperatures in buildings and urban areas will also tackle reduced employee productivity and decreased customer attraction;
• Uniforms and dress codes may require revision to maintain employee comfort. Specialist equipment may require development, and customer expectations may need to be managed over time;
• Consider altering future working patterns hours to allow staff to work around temperature extremes and from remote locations to limit vulnerability to transport infrastructure, and to adapt to likely changes in customer behaviour.
• Changing market demands, Finance (particularly impacts on investment and insurance), Logistics, and Process changes are addressed in more detail below where they apply to particular sectors.

Further sector-specific adaptation actions in response to the impacts are summarised below, with explanation or further description where necessary.

Agriculture, forestry and fisheries
Action within the agriculture sector can be progressed through greater information sharing and liaison between groups such as the National Farmers Union, Country Land and Business Association (CLA) and other sector interests, together with national regional and sub-regional coordination bodies (eg groups such as East Yorkshire Rural Environment Forum), and supported by local authorities. Research and information sharing should also be embedded in rural policy at all levels from sub-regional to EU. As in other sectors, wider actions aimed at strengthening the sector will help build resilience.

Arable farming

• Both potential increases in yield and greater likelihood of storm damage, especially to particular crops, should be appropriately considered in business plans and future financial modelling. Investigate adapting farming schedules to account for these impacts and to maximise yield from an extended growing season. Diversification of crops grown within and between farms will build resilience to disruption to key periods, such as sowing and harvest, and allow new crops to be introduced. This could include greater adoption of biofuels and renewable energy where appropriate;
• Investigate the suitability of new crop species, including drought resistant plants. Keep the development of GM crops under review as a potential solution. Longer-term action to develop public acceptance will probably be required;
• Promote and develop low energy and efficient irrigation networks within farms. Developing winter storage reservoirs will enable storage of water in upland and agricultural areas, limiting downstream flood risk (through attenuation) and drought impacts. Cross-sectoral benefits would include providing an available source of water for tackling rural fires (addressing an impact identified in the Public and voluntary services section) and biodiversity and amenity benefits;
• Plant shade / shelter belts to prevent both wind erosion of soils and damage to crops. Also promote research into, and use of, wind-resilient crops (eg short wheat);
• Ensure proper soil management to maximise summer water retention, and field drainage, and to reduce erosion. Review chemical and fertilizer application rates in response to any soil loss;
• Encourage full consideration of agricultural vulnerability to flooding and contamination within coastal and flood management strategies (eg SMPs, CFMPs). Over the longer-term, consider farm relocation away from sources of saline and other contamination, or diversification into other farmed products;
• Assess vulnerability to contamination from urban, rural and agricultural sources, including reviewing storage on and off-farm and manage identified risks;
• Keep farming practices under review to ensure they do not exacerbate problems such as erosion and waterlogging. If necessary promote wider education about alternative practices and plan investment in better adapted machinery;
• Promote and support research to better understand the effects of CO2 fertilisation, and any changes in agricultural practice that may be required to realise increased potential growth;
• Increase pest control and undertake development and review of pest management plans. Ensure adequate biosecurity measures to limit import of pests, particularly through the Humber ports, and also support research into non-chemical means of pest and disease suppression.

Livestock farming

• Provide shelter belt trees and hedges for outside livestock to provide protection from wind, and shade from sun;
• Review breed, and if necessary species, choices to ensure they are well adapted to future conditions (for example more heat tolerant);
• Harvest winter rainfall for use in summer and during drought periods (as above);
• Improve field drainage and soil absorption to reduce churning by livestock, and pasture deterioration;
• Promote and support research to better understand the effects of CO2 fertilisation and climate change on forage quality, and any necessary changes in agricultural practice. Also investigate the potential for different livestock feeds to reduce the contribution of agriculture to climate change;
• Maintain and review well-developed response plans appropriate to existing and new pests. This should include biosecurity measures, especially in response to the proximity of the ports and future tourist movements, and pest management plans, as with arable (above), incorporating:
• Changes to farming practices to limit animal exposure;
• Identifying pest breeding / reservoir areas, and intervening to limit their impact
• Greater use of veterinary intervention (eg pre-emptive vaccination);
• Continued vigilance and measures to prevent disease spread to humans.

Forestry

• As forestry is a long-term industry locally-specific research should be carried out to identify species best suited to projected climate conditions. In particular this should consider local soils and their potential for flooding, waterlogging, and drying out, positive interactions with elevated CO2 and the potential for increased yields, and also negative effects of known and possible pests;
• Conduct locally-specific species and provenance trials. Both species and provenance should be chosen carefully to ensure adaptation. Non-native species, although potentially better adapted, may present unforeseen challenges (eg Corsican Pine susceptibility to red band needle blight) rendering species unsuitable as commercial crops (Vince Clark, Forestry Commission, pers. comm.). A number of species better adapted to growing in Scotland have been presented by Forest Research (2008), and their findings are likely to be relevant, to some degree, in Yorkshire and Humber. Species include:
• Maritime pine Pinus pinaster;
• Monterey pine Pinus radiate;
• Lenga beech Nothofagus pumilio;
• N. nervosa;
• N. oblique;
• Walnut Juglans regia;
• Sweet chestnut Castanea sativa.

• Prepare to adapt management practices and develop locally-relevant guidance on how to best manage climate change impacts on forestry and native woodland. Investigate changes in dormancy periods to ensure correct planting times, and tree nursery conditions to ensure the growth and development of younger trees under changing conditions. Management should be reviewed at regular intervals, building in experience and any revised projections to ensure that longer-term stand management is maintained. This may have financial and resource implications in terms of manpower and equipment. Also maintain a review of harvesting practices, in particular clear-felling, to ensure that they remain relevant and do not enhance degradation and loss of soils and the soil carbon store;
• Wider adoption of selective felling (Continuous Cover Forestry (CCF)) could be considered to maintain stand resilience. The continuous presence of trees can have a significant impact on rural and urban sites, modifying micro-climates and providing shelter from wind and sun. Guidance has been produced for this (Forestry Commission 2004). Assess suitable sites for the range of different planting regimes, and apply changes where suitable;
• Development of diversified and mixed stands will spread the management risk associated with uncertainty about species adaptation. Seek opportunities to combine new and existing species where suitable sites can be identified. Care is required to ensure that this does not facilitate larger pest populations;
• Promote schemes to link up fragmented woodlands to reduce their individual vulnerability. Larger woodlands and greater interconnectivity will also support the region’s biodiversity, enabling greater habitat transition;
• Assess possible sites for new woodland expansion, particularly for flood and erosion amelioration and identify mechanisms for planting. Such assessment could build on work carried out under the Strategic Partnership for the River Ouse and its Tributaries (SPROUT), and for Defra (2008), and would support one of the priorities of the Regional Forestry Strategy (Forestry Commission 2005);
• Slowed flood flows can enhance soil percolation rates. Where groundwater resources are likely to be under drought pressure opportunity mapping should be carried out to identify areas where afforestation could enhance recharge;
• Engage in greater public and rural business awareness about the risks of woodland fires. Monitor and where necessary respond with management;
• Determine the risk from pests already in the area, and also wider threats imposed by pests associated with new tree species. Investigate potential pest and disease movements and impacts and develop adaptation strategies. Develop a system of rapid identification and reporting of new pests and diseases, and extensions of range, and produce and implement invasive species management plans, including adequate biosecurity at the Humber ports;
• Review forest mammal management practices – eg deer fencing – to ensure they remain relevant to changes in forest makeup and woodland biodiversity;
• Afforestation as part of climate mitigation schemes may bring additional funding to enable management. Research opportunities to generate funding from production of shorter-lived crops suitable for biomass-derived energy - opportunity mapping should also support this to ensure development is targetted away from areas where biomass crops may affect groundwater;
• Provide more trees and woodland in urban areas to ameliorate the urban heat island but ensure urban damage from trees is prevented. Also ensure appropriate buffering around woodland and forests to prevent wind-throw damage to infrastructure and buildings, or to livestock, crops, people and infrastructure.

Fisheries
Measures adopted in the fisheries industry, including ‘downstream’ processing and manufacturing, can be carried out through coordination offered by the Yorkshire and Humber Seafood Group. It represents an ideal opportunity to advise the range of businesses on likely impacts of climate change, and to commission and lead research.

• Support research into likely changes in future distribution of catch species;
• Ensure long-term investment decisions – eg new boats and equipment – are informed by best available information about future catch species;
• Increase predictive modelling at the national and regional level of increases in contamination, and disseminate measures to increase resilience. Develop and update monitoring and surveillance in line with the findings and best practice.

Further advice is available groups such as Business Link, whose online guide 'Adapt your business to the effects of climate change' includes an agricultural focus'.

Tourism culture and leisure
In line with the regional Rural Framework intentions, carry out targetted research and support schemes developing the region as a sustainable tourism destination. This will deliver across sectors as it can also strengthen industries such as agriculture and forestry.

• Identify and positively promote changes to future markets, to ensure good awareness within the sector of the UK’s future competitiveness, and identify and exploit key features for future development;
• Link tourism and other policies to ensure they are mutually-beneficial. Carry out sub-area and site assessments to assess impacts, including economic social and environmental, of increasing visitors. If necessary identify caps on visitor numbers and consider developing new areas for tourism, including previously less-visited areas (eg the Yorkshire Wolds);
• Implement and review visitor management strategies to limit impacts on resources, infrastructure (including roads and footpaths) and habitats, and to ensure the protection of natural and landscape features which act as visitor attractions;
• Ensure appropriate location and maintenance of new footpaths and cyclepaths to limit the risk of loss due to flood erosion;
• Promote sustainable tourism schemes within the industry and invest in regional and sub-regional training schemes to support these. Aligned with these, promote energy and water conservation in local businesses, and promote wider uptake of renewable and low carbon technologies linked with local supply networks;
• Ensure resilience of local businesses to flooding through preparation of generic flood risk assessment models, for use in regular self-assessment.
• Ensure the value and importance, of tourism is appropriately considered in coastal and flood management strategies to prevent eg increased pollution. Also ensure likely changes to the tourism market are appropriately considered in infrastructure development plans (water, wastewater, transport, power infrastructure, whether centralised or local), so that infrastructure limitations do not exacerbate impacts;
• Include and require additional external amenity space, including parkland and in urban centres, in renaissance and redevelopment plans.
• Ensure leisure and tourism-related land management practices facilitate good percolation of water, and dispersion of heavy rainfall to storage sites and away from buildings and other flood prone structures;
• Management of conditions at sports venues may require increased irrigation or changes in grass cover or other surfaces. Develop water capture and storage schemes associated with golf courses, and review grass types used, to ensure resilience to likely future drought and heavy rain. Where vegetation is managed for tourism, review and if necessary adapt management and planting regimes to account for future changes in plant growth and viability. Alternatively, or additionally, consider longer-term activity to manage visitor expectations;
• Regularly review crowd and customer management strategies, and health and safety protocols, to ensure they remain relevant to changing conditions. The timing of annual events may need to be reviewed to limit the likelihood of cancellation or other issues resulting from extreme rainfall or heat.

Additional advice includes Business Link’s online guide 'Adapt your business to the effects of climate change', which includes a focus on tourism.

Manufacturing
Impacts on manufacturing will often be very process-specific, and in-depth reviews should be carried out on a site-by-site and industry-type basis. As well as adaptations associated with premises and employee comfort, as above, other measures include:

• Develop a generic climate change impact assessment (including of flood risk) for the manufacturing sector to enable self-assessment;
• Build process adaptations into regular maintenance and upgrade cycles at manufacturing and industrial sites to increase water efficiency, energy efficiency, use of decentralised energy supply and adoption of onsite renewable energy, developing climate resilience and cost effectiveness and ensuring that processes remain appropriate to conditions. Investigate greater use of water storage and re-use for industrial processes to limit future resource conflicts;
• The emergence, re-emergence, or appearance in the UK, of food-borne pathogens and infections may require additional treatment to be built into processing systems. Early identification will be required;
• Establish and maintain strategic links with supplier industries – agriculture, fisheries, etc – and share information on likely changes in future supply/demand to enable early industry response. In the food processing sector, build climate change assessments into periodic reviews of practice. Although high UK standards mean toxicity and food spoiling should be identified early, particular consideration should be given to processing chains which involve treatment overseas where the changing climate may introduce additional risks;
• Measures to address urban flooding, addressed elsewhere, will have a wider impact in reducing the spread of potential contamination to food manufacturing sites.

Innovation and advanced technology
This sector will be principally affected by impacts on premises and employees, as above and elsewhere. However, particular adaptations are relevant to development and resilience of the sector:

• Support local research into developing markets and opportunities to enable early alignment of regional and sub-regional R&D resources with local needs, for instance within the Biosciences sector to address climate resilient crop and tree species;
• Promote good data management practices, including regular backup of information and storage of servers and data stores on higher floors of buildings to limit vulnerability to flood;
• Maximise the uptake of SUDS and surface water management measures by requiring their adoption on distribution parks, manufacturing parks etc. As largely urbanised areas the increased use of trees for shading should also be investigated.

Retail
Measures to address impacts of buildings and on employee and customer comfort are addressed above. Other adaptations include:

• Regularly review impacts of climate changes on markets – this is particularly important for niche retailers. Where new products or changing markets are likely, position regional businesses early to maximise the competitive advantage;
• Ensure SUDS and other best practice surface water management plans are integrated in new retail developments and malls, and encourage the adoption of water features and shade trees in urban centres and decentralised retail parks to suppress daily temperature extremes and maintain attractiveness;
• Encourage the implementation of lower energy and zero carbon cooling methods in new, and retrofitted into old, shops and retail centres;
• Acknowledge, and regularly assess resilience to, disruptions in supply chain (addressed below with logistics);
• Support the maintenance of local shop networks to ensure community resilience during extreme events such as floods.

SMEs
As a hard-to-reach group, SMEs should be a priority area for action:

• Initiatives providing support to businesses, and in particular SMEs, through schemes such as Business Link, small business advisory groups, Chambers of Commerce and local business partnerships may find the CLARA (Climate Adaptation Resource for Advisors) resource useful. Available online at www.ukcip.org.uk/clara it aims to help make the business case for action. Other groups which enhance the business resilience of SMEs, such as the Virtual Enterprise Networks, should also serve to strengthen resilience to climate change;
• Promote good data management, including regular backup of information and storage of servers and data stores on higher floors of buildings;

Information produced as part of the EU FLOWS project (Floodplain Landuse Optimising Workable Sustainability - Living with flood risk in a changing climate) included a demonstration project and booklet targetted at small businesses, which investigate retrofitting flood resilience. The booklet is available from www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/environment/water/flooding.htm

Business Link’s online guide 'Adapt your business to the effects of climate change' covers advice on integrating climate change plans into business strategy and insurance.

Other
Adaptation within the service sector, and the insurance industry in particular, is largely associated with successful adaptation of other sectors. Elements of it this will require strategic action at all levels, including through the Regional Spatial Strategy, to:

• Carry out opportunity mapping to avoid inappropriate land uses in areas of both flood and subsidence risk;
• Carry out large scale habitat restoration for catchment flood management;
• Limit the impact of urban flooding and temperature increase by encouraging greater uptake of SUDS and shade trees, particularly in urbanised areas, business parks, distribution and logistics hubs, and manufacturing parks;
• The impacts of heavy rain on flat roofs should be particularly considered in the design and construction of large warehouses and logistics centres. Building design should fully incorporate measures to ensure drainage and source control;
• Regularly review supply and storage infrastructure as just-in-time delivery may become increasingly susceptible to disruption in the future. Investigate the use of non-road transport networks, including rail and where possible waterways, for non-perishable goods and consider developing additional temperature-controlled processing and storage capacity to service the Food and Drink sector, and port-related distribution. Low carbon and renewable technologies should be adopted, however, to reduce the contribution to climate change. Support wider research into alternative means of reducing food spoiling, and disseminate findings through regional and sub-regional networks;
• Rural areas, and those associated with traditional industries should be a particular focus of support programmes.

 

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| North Yorkshire | West Yorkshire | Humber | South Yorkshire |

 

Adaptations to the impacts considered in this study are reported at the regional level; those relevant to the North Yorkshire sub-region are summarised below. Overarching activity, identified at the regional level, is not duplicated.

Strategic documents being produced at the sub-regional level or more locally (by local authorities or other groups developing business or economic interests) should be regularly challenged against information on climate change. This will ensure that planned economic development is adapted. An opportunity at the strategic level is through the York’s influence as a national Science City.

Agriculture, forestry and fisheries
Action within the agriculture sector can be progressed through greater information sharing and liaison between groups such as the National Farmers Union, Country Land and Business Association (CLA) and other sector interests, together with national and regional and sub-regional coordination and information sharing networks.

Arable farming

• Both potential increases in yield and greater likelihood of storm damage, especially to particular crops, should be appropriately considered in business plans and future financial modelling. Investigate adapting farming schedules to account for these; Diversification of crops grown within and between farms will build resilience to disruption to key periods, such as sowing and harvest, and subsequent loss of yield;
• Investigate the use of drought resistant plants and suitability of new crop species. Keep GM crops under review as a potential solution to future farming need, although longer-term action to develop public acceptance will probably be required;
• Promote and develop low energy and efficient irrigation networks within farms. Winter storage reservoirs can keep water in upland and agricultural areas, limiting downstream flood risk and drought impacts. They can also have cross-sectoral benefits through providing water for tackling rural fires, and offer biodiversity and amenity benefits;
• Encourage and promote better soil maintenance and management techniques to reduce erosion, increase summer water retention and enhance field drainage;
• Plant shade / shelter belts (in particular for agricultural crops) to prevent both wind erosion of productive soils and damage to crops. Alongside this promote research and use of wind-resilient crops;
• Assess vulnerability to contamination from urban, rural and agricultural sources, and develop protection measures, including reviewing storage on or off-farm and adopting measures to prevent agricultural or other land being affected;
• Encourage adequate consideration of agricultural vulnerability to flooding and contamination within coastal and flood management strategies (eg SMPs, CFMPs). Over the longer-term, consider farm relocation away from sources of saline and other contamination;
• Keep farming practices under review to ensure they do not exacerbate problems caused by changing weather patterns (eg erosion and waterlogged fields). Promote wider education about alternative practices, and if necessary support investment in better adapted machinery;
• Promote and support research to better understand the effects of CO2 fertilisation, and any changes in agricultural practice that may be required to ensure increased growth potential can be realised;
• Increase pest control and undertake development and review of pest management plans, including to limit import of exotic pests. Alongside this support research and trials of non-chemical means of pest and disease suppression;
• Encourage greater adoption of biofuels and renewable energy, where viable.

Livestock farming

• Provide shelter belt trees and hedges for outside livestock to provide protection from wind, and shade from sun;
• Review breed, and if necessary species, choices to ensure they are well adapted to future conditions (for example more heat tolerant);
• Harvest winter rainfall for use in summer and during drought periods (as above);
• Improve field drainage and soil absorption to reduce churning by livestock, and pasture deterioration;
• Promote and support research to better understand the effects of CO2 fertilisation and climate change on forage quality, and any changes in agricultural practice that may be required to harness the growth potential. Also investigate different livestock feeds to reduce the contribution of agriculture to climate change;
• Increase pest control and undertake pest management plans including:
• Identifying potential pest breeding / reservoir areas on and around farms and increasing biosecurity in response to increased prevalence of pests, the proximity of the ports, and movement of tourists;
• Changes to farming practices to limit exposure of extensively farmed animals, including upland sheep, to new disease;
• Greater use of veterinary intervention (eg pre-emptive vaccination);
• Continued vigilance to prevent spread of disease to humans;
• Ensure changing markets can be responded to without negatively impacting traditional and socio-economic values.

Forestry

• As forestry is a long-term industry locally-specific research should be carried out to identify species best suited to projected climate conditions. In particular this should consider local soils and their potential for flooding, waterlogging, and drying out, positive interactions with elevated CO2 and the potential for increased yields, and also negative effects of known and possible pests;
• Maintain methodical research into future impacts on forestry and the particular impacts of climate change. Conduct locally-relevant species and provenance trials building on eg Forest Research (2008). Development of diversified and mixed stands will spread the risk associated with uncertainty about species adaptation to changing conditions, and to changes in pest, disease and other stress loads;
• Develop locally-relevant guidance on how to best manage climate change impacts on forestry and native woodland. Prepare to adapt practices in response to increased waterlogging, or drought stress, of soils; changes in dormancy periods and correct planting times; and conditions in tree nurseries;
• Wider adoption of selective felling (Continuous Cover Forestry (CCF)) could be considered to maintain stand resilience to increased temperatures, wind speeds, and interactions between wind and rainfall/soil conditions. The process is being trialled in North Yorkshire and wider adoption should be assessed for other plantations and woodland. Assessments for suitable sites for a range of different planting regimes should be carried out and regimes adopted where suitable;
• Other management techniques should be reviewed at regular intervals, building in most recent experiences and any revised projections for future conditions. This should include consideration of harvesting practices, in particular clear-felling of plantations, to ensure that they assess the potential for soil degradation and loss in summer (from drying and wind erosion) and from flooding;
• Assess possible sites for new woodland expansion, particularly for flood and erosion amelioration, building on the findings of the Strategic Partnership for the River Ouse and its Tributaries (SPROUT) and Defra (2008). An additional benefit of slowing flood flows is that soil percolation rates are enhanced. In areas where groundwater resources are likely to be under drought pressure, opportunity mapping should be carried out to identify areas where afforestation can enhance recharge rates. Afforestation in urban areas should be supported to limit the urban heat island effect, with due consideration of buffer zones to prevent damage. Appropriate buffering should also be ensured around woodland and forests to prevent damage to infrastructure and buildings from windthrow, or to livestock, crops and people from debris;
• Promote other schemes to link up fragmented woodlands to reduce their individual vulnerability to wind and other climate changes. Larger woodlands and greater interconnectivity will also support the region’s biodiversity, enabling greater habitat transition through natural landscapes;
• Engage in greater public and business awareness about the risks of woodland fires; where and when necessary enforce strict management policies;
• Determine the risk from existing and new pest species and investigate potential changes to develop adaptation strategies, including biosecurity at ports, and invasive species management plans;
• Investigate current and alternative sources of funding to support projects, including through local and regional markets for woodland biomass. Review the potential for diversification into biomass, again through opportunity mapping to ensure groundwater recharge is not negatively affected.

Fisheries
Measures adopted in the fisheries industry, including processing could be carried out through the Yorkshire and Humber Seafood Group. It represents an ideal opportunity to advise businesses and to commission and lead research.

• Support research into likely changes in future distribution of catch species;
• Ensure long-term investment decisions – eg new boats and equipment – are informed by best available information about future catch species;
• Increased predictive modelling of increases in contamination, and dissemination of measures to increase resilience. Carry out at the national and regional level;
• Develop and update monitoring and surveillance, and development of best practice in line with the findings.

Tourism culture and leisure

• In line with the regional Rural Framework, carry out targetted research and support schemes to drive sustainable tourism. As the tourism sector is expected to continue to grow, ensure tourist-related and rural policies are mutually-beneficial. Integrate responses with social and economic assessments to ensure that widest benefits accrue to the local area, strengthening the rural economy that underpins a significant amount of rural tourism;
• Identify and positively promote changes to future markets, to ensure good awareness within the sector of the UK’s future competitiveness, and identify key features for future development, in order to maximise opportunity early;
• Consider developing new areas for tourism, including previously less-visited areas to enhance possibilities for rural development and reduce visitor impact on traditional sites. Carry out sub-area and site assessments to assess impacts, including economic social and environmental, of increasing visitors. If necessary identify caps on visitor numbers;
• Ensure protection of nature conservation and landscape features which act as visitor attractions. Implement appropriate visitor management strategies, and maintain regular review, to limit visitor impact on resources, infrastructure (including roads and footpaths) and habitats. Ensure appropriate location and maintenance of new footpaths and cyclepaths, intended to increase access to the countryside, to limit the risk of loss due to flood erosion;
• Promote energy and water conservation in tourism-related businesses, and promote wider uptake of renewable and low carbon technologies, especially where linked with local supply networks;
• Ensure resilience of local businesses to flooding through preparation of generic flood risk assessment models, for use in regular self-assessment.
• Ensure rapid assessment of the effects of disease outbreaks on tourism and ensure suitable funding is available for recovery projects and to provide up to date information for businesses and visitors;
• Ensure the economic, social and historical value, and considerable local importance, of tourism is appropriately considered in coastal and flood management strategies to prevent eg increased pollution. Further ensure the future changes to the tourism market are appropriately considered in infrastructure development plans (water, wastewater, transport, power infrastructure, whether centralised or local), to ensure that infrastructure limitations do not unnecessarily limit economic development and that the aesthetic appeal of areas is not compromised;
• Include and require additional external amenity space, including parkland and in urban centres, in renaissance and redevelopment plans.
• Regularly review pest and disease movements, with possible effects on all sectors, and the potential for increased importation or spread by tourists;
• Management of conditions at sports venues may require increased irrigation or changes in grass cover or other surfaces. Develop water capture and storage schemes associated with golf courses, and review grass types used, to ensure resilience to likely future flood and heavy rain. Where vegetation is managed for tourism, review and if necessary adapt management and planting regimes to account for future changes in plant growth and viability. Alternatively, or additionally, consider longer-term activity to manage visitor expectations;
• Regularly review crowd and customer management strategies, and health and safety protocols, to ensure they remain relevant to changing conditions, and review timing of annual events to limit likelihood of cancellation or other issues resulting from extreme rainfall or heat.

Manufacturing, where present
Impacts on manufacturing will often be very process-specific, and in-depth review will be required on a site-by-site and industry-type basis. As well as adaptations associated with premises and employee comfort, as above, a number of other measures should be considered:

• Build process adaptations into regular maintenance and upgrade cycles;
• Investigate greater use of water storage and re-use, and use of non-potable water. Assess individual business and local flood risk, and if necessary implement local flood management measures, for retail and manufacturing parks to prevent flood damage, and product contamination;
• The emergence, re-emergence, or appearance in the UK, of food-borne pathogens and infections may require additional treatment to be built into processing systems. Early identification will be required. Measures to address urban flooding, addressed elsewhere, will have a wider impact in reducing the spread of potential contamination to food manufacturing sites;
• Establish and maintain strategic links with supplier industries – agriculture, fisheries, etc – and share information on likely changes in future supply/demand to enable early industry response and gain competitive advantages;
• In the food processing sector, build climate change assessments into periodic reviews of practice. Although high UK standards of regulation and oversight mean that incidences of toxicity and food spoiling should be identified early, particular consideration should be given to those processing chains which involve handling and treatment overseas where the changing climate may introduce additional risks;
• Review likely future market changes and position and sub-region’s manufacturing industries to maximise the benefits of future opportunity.

Innovation and advanced technology
This sector will be principally affected by impacts on premises and employees, as above and elsewhere, but particular adaptations include:

• Maximise opportunities for meeting local R&D needs, for instance within the Biosciences sector to address new and more climate resilient crop and tree species. Support local research into developing markets and opportunities to enable early alignment of regional and sub-regional R&D resources;
• As largely urbanised areas the increased use of trees for shading should be investigated in new business parks, and innovation areas;
• Maximise the uptake of SUDS and surface water management measures by requiring their adoption on distribution parks, manufacturing parks etc;
• Promote good data management practices, including regular backup of information and storage of servers and data stores on higher floors of buildings to limit vulnerability to flood.

Retail
Measures to address impacts of buildings and on employee and customer comfort are addressed above. Other adaptations include:

• Regularly review impacts of climate changes on markets – particularly important for niche retailers. Where new products or enhanced existing markets are likely, position and raise profile in the market early to maximise the competitive advantage;
• Encourage the adoption of water features and shade trees in urban centres, decentralised retail parks and around malls to suppress daily temperature extremes and maintain the attractiveness of the retail offering;
• Support the development and encourage the implementation of zero carbon and low energy cooling methods for adoption in new, and retrofit into old, shops and retail centres;
• Ensure SUDS and other best practice surface water management plans are integrated in new retail developments and malls;
• Acknowledge, and regularly assess resilience to, disruptions in supply chain (addressed below with logistics);
• Ensure local shop networks are maintained to ensure community resilience during extreme events such as floods.

SMEs
As a hard-to-reach group, SMEs should be a priority area for action:

• Initiatives to enhance the business resilience of SMEs should also serve to strengthen resilience to disruptions caused by extreme weather associated with climate change.
• Promote good data management, including regular backup of information and storage of servers and data stores on higher floors of buildings;
• Information specific to dealing with flooding was produced as part of the EU FLOWS project (Floodplain Landuse Optimising Workable Sustainability - Living with flood risk in a changing climate). This included a demonstration project and booklet targetted at small businesses, which investigate retrofitting flood-resilience to a building. The booklet is available from www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/environment/water/flooding.htm;

Other
Adaptation within the service sector is largely associated with measures adopted across all other sectors through wider adoption of integrated risk management procedures, and the inclusion of climate change;

• Rural areas, and those associated with traditional industries in particular, tend to be associated with lower levels of innovation. This should be a particular focus of support programmes;
• As largely urbanised areas the increased use of trees for shading should be investigated in business parks, distribution and logistics hubs, and manufacturing parks;
• Limit the impact of urban flooding by maximising the uptake of opportunities to introduce SUDS and surface water management measures by requiring their adoption on distribution parks, manufacturing parks etc;
• The impacts of heavy rain on flat roofs should be particularly considered in the design and construction of large warehouses and logistics centres. Building design should fully incorporate measures to ensure drainage and source control of heavy rain;
• Regularly review supply and storage infrastructure as just-in-time delivery may become increasingly susceptible to disruption in the future;
• Consider developing additional temperature-controlled processing and storage capacity to service the Food and Drink sector, and port-related distribution. Low carbon and renewable technologies should be adopted, however, to reduce future contribution to climate change.

 

top

Adaptations to the impacts considered in this study are reported at the regional level; those which are relevant to the West Yorkshire sub-region are summarised below. Overarching activity, identified at the regional level, is not duplicated.

Strategic documents produced at the sub-regional level or more locally (by local authorities or others) should be regularly challenged against the best available information on climate change. This will ensure climate adapted economic development.

Agriculture, forestry and fisheries
Action within the sector can be progressed through greater information sharing and liaison between groups such as the National Farmers Union, Country Land and Business Association (CLA) and other interests, together with national regional and sub-regional coordination and information sharing networks.

Arable farming

• Both potential increases in yield and greater likelihood of storm damage, especially to particular crops, should be appropriately considered in business plans and future financial modelling. Investigate adapting farming schedules to account for these; Diversification of crops grown within and between farms will build resilience to disruption to key periods, such as sowing and harvest, and subsequent loss of yield;
• Investigate the use of drought resistant plants and suitability of new crop species. Keep GM crops under review as a potential solution to future farming need, although longer-term action to develop public acceptance will probably be required;
• Promote and develop low energy and efficient irrigation networks within farms;
• Plant shade / shelter belts to prevent both wind erosion of productive soils and damage to crops;
• Encourage and promote better soil maintenance and management techniques to reduce erosion, and review chemical and fertilizer application rates in response to future soil loss;
• Assess vulnerability to contamination from urban, rural and agricultural sources, and develop protection measures, including reviewing storage on or off-farm and adopting measures to prevent agricultural or other land being affected;
• Encourage adequate consideration of agricultural vulnerability to flooding and contamination within flood management strategies (eg SMPs, CFMPs);
• Maintain farming practices under review to ensure they do not exacerbate problems caused by changing weather patterns (eg erosion and waterlogged fields). Promote wider education about alternative practices, and if necessary support investment in better adapted machinery;
• Increase pest control and undertake development and review of pest management plans, including to limit import of exotic pests. Alongside this support research and trials of non-chemical means of pest and disease suppression;
• Encourage greater adoption of biofuels and renewable energy, where viable.

Livestock farming

• Provide shelter belt trees and hedges for outside livestock to provide outside protection from wind, and shade from sun;
• Review breed, and if necessary species, choices to ensure they are well adapted to future conditions (for example more heat tolerant);
• Investigate different livestock feeds to reduce the contribution of agriculture to climate change.
• Increase pest control and undertake pest management plans, as with other sub-regions.

Forestry, where present

• Conduct species and provenance trials to identify appropriate long-term economic tree crops for future selection to maximise the potential yield gain. Develop locally-relevant best practice guidance on how to best manage climate change impacts on forestry and native woodland, accounting for local variability in soil and tree types. Prepare to adapt management practices in response to increased waterlogging, or drought stress, of soils;
• Review tree nursery and planting conditions to ensure the growth and development of younger trees under changing conditions;
• Assess possible sites for new woodland expansion, particularly for flood and erosion amelioration. In areas where groundwater resources are likely to be under drought pressure, opportunity mapping should be carried out to identify areas where afforestation can enhance recharge rates. Afforestation in urban areas should be supported to limit the urban heat island effect, with due consideration of buffer zones to prevent damage. Appropriate buffering should also be ensured around woodland to prevent damage to infrastructure and buildings, or to livestock, crops and people;
• Promote schemes to link up fragmented woodlands to reduce their individual vulnerability. Larger woodlands and greater interconnectivity will also support the region’s biodiversity. Seek opportunities to combine new and existing species in mixed stands to further increase resilience;
• Engage in greater public and business awareness about the risks of woodland fires, and where and when necessary enforce strict management policies;
• Determine the risk from existing and new pest species and investigate potential changes to develop adaptation strategies, including biosecurity at ports, and invasive species management plans;
• Investigate current and alternative sources of funding to support projects, including through local and regional markets for woodland biomass. Review the potential for diversification into biomass, again through opportunity mapping to ensure groundwater recharge is not negatively affected.

Tourism culture and leisure

• In line with the regional Rural Framework intentions, carry out targetted research and support schemes to drive the development and marketing of the rural areas of the region as a high-quality sustainable tourism destination. This can deliver across sectors, as it will also provide opportunities to strengthen land-management industries such as agriculture and forestry.
• Identify and positively promote changes to future markets, to ensure good awareness within the sector of the UK’s future competitiveness, and identify key features for future development, in order to maximise opportunity early;
• Consider developing new areas for tourism, including previously less-visited areas to enhance possibilities for rural development and reduce visitor impact on traditional sites. Carry out sub-area and site assessments to assess impacts, including economic social and environmental, of increasing visitors. If necessary identify caps on numbers and appropriate visitor management strategies. Maintain regular review;
• Promote sustainable tourism within the industry, and invest in regional and sub-regional training schemes. Promote energy and water conservation, and wider uptake of renewable and low carbon technologies;
• Ensure resilience of local businesses to flooding through preparation of generic flood risk assessment models, for use in regular self-assessment.
• Ensure the future changes to the tourism market are appropriately considered in infrastructure development plans (water, wastewater, transport, power infrastructure, whether centralised or local), to ensure that infrastructure limitations do not unnecessarily limit economic development and that the aesthetic appeal of areas is not compromised;
• Management of conditions at sports venues may require increased irrigation or changes in grass cover or other surfaces. Develop water capture and storage schemes associated with golf courses, and review grass types used, to ensure resilience to likely future flood and heavy rain. Where vegetation is managed for tourism, review and if necessary adapt management and planting regimes to account for future changes in plant growth and viability. Alternatively, or additionally, consider longer-term activity to manage visitor expectations;
• Regularly review crowd and customer management strategies, and health and safety protocols, to ensure they remain relevant to changing conditions. The timing of annual events may need to be reviewed to limit the likelihood of cancellation or other issues resulting from extreme rainfall or heat.

Manufacturing
Impacts on manufacturing will often be very process-specific, and in-depth review will be required on a site-by-site and industry-type basis. As well as adaptations associated with premises and employee comfort, as above, a number of other measures should be considered:

• Develop a generic climate change impact assessment (including of flood risk) for the manufacturing sector to enable self-assessment;
• Build process adaptations into regular maintenance and upgrade cycles at manufacturing and industrial sites to increase water efficiency, energy efficiency, use of decentralised energy supply and adoption of onsite renewable energy, developing climate resilience and cost effectiveness and ensuring that processes remain appropriate to conditions. Investigate greater use of water storage and re-use, and use of non-potable water for industrial processes to limit future conflicts for resources;
• Investigate greater use of water storage and re-use, and use of non-potable water for industrial processes to limit future conflicts for limited resources. Assess individual business and local flood risk, and if necessary implement local flood management measures, for retail and manufacturing parks to prevent flood damage, and product contamination.

Innovation and advanced technology
This sector will be principally affected by impacts on premises and employees, as above and elsewhere, but particular adaptations include:

• Support local research into developing markets and opportunities to enable early alignment of regional and sub-regional R&D resources with local needs, for instance within the Biosciences sector to address climate resilient crop and tree species;
• Promote good data management practices, including regular backup of information and storage of servers and data stores on higher floors of buildings to limit vulnerability to flood;
• Maximise the uptake of SUDS and surface water management measures by requiring their adoption on distribution parks, manufacturing parks etc. As largely urbanised areas the increased use of trees for shading should also be investigated.

Retail
Measures to address impacts of buildings and on employee and customer comfort are addressed above. Other adaptations include:

• Regularly review impacts of climate changes on markets – particularly important for niche retailers. Where new products or enhanced existing markets are likely, position and raise profile in the market early to maximise the competitive advantage;
• Ensure SUDS and other best practice surface water management plans are integrated in new retail developments and malls, and encourage the adoption of water features and shade trees in urban centres, decentralised retail parks and around malls to suppress daily temperature extremes and maintain attractiveness;
• Encourage the implementation of lower energy and zero carbon cooling methods in new, and retrofitted into old, shops and retail centres;
• Ensure local shop networks are maintained to ensure community resilience during extreme events such as floods.

SMEs
As a hard-to-reach group, SMEs should be a priority area for action:

• Initiatives to enhance the business resilience of SMEs should also serve to strengthen resilience to climate change;
• Promote good data management, including regular backup of information and storage of servers and data stores on higher floors of buildings;
• Information produced as part of the EU FLOWS project (Floodplain Landuse Optimising Workable Sustainability - Living with flood risk in a changing climate) included a demonstration project and booklet targetted at small businesses, which investigate retrofitting flood resilience. The booklet is available from www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/environment/water/flooding.htm;

Other
Adaptation within the service sector, and the insurance industry in particular, is largely associated with measures adopted across all other sectors through wider adoption of integrated risk management procedures, and the inclusion of climate change.

• Ensure SUDS and other best practice surface water management plans are integrated in business and manufacturing parks, and distribution hubs, and encourage the adoption of water features and shade trees in urban centres, decentralised retail parks and around malls to suppress daily temperature extremes and maintain attractiveness;
• The impacts of heavy rain on flat roofs should be particularly considered in the design and construction of large warehouses and logistics centres. Building design should fully incorporate measures to ensure drainage and source control;
• Regularly review supply and storage infrastructure. Investigate the use of non-road transport networks, including rail and where possible waterways, for non-perishable goods and consider developing additional processing and storage capacity to service the Food and Drink sector, and port-related distribution. Low carbon and renewable technologies should be adopted, however, to reduce the contribution to climate change. Support wider research into alternative means of reducing food spoiling, and disseminate findings through regional and sub-regional networks.

 

top

Adaptations considered in this study are reported at the regional level; for brevity those relevant to the Humber sub-region are summarised below. Overarching activity, identified regionally, is not duplicated here.

Strategic sub-regional (and local) documents should be regularly challenged against the best available climate change information. This will help ensure that planned economic development is adapted.

Agriculture, forestry and fisheries
Action within the agriculture sector can be progressed through greater information sharing and liaison. Local groups such as East Yorkshire Rural Environment Forum can be particularly useful, particularly where supported by local authorities.

Arable farming

• Both potential increases in yield and greater likelihood of storm damage, especially to particular crops, should be appropriately considered in business plans and future financial modelling. Investigate adapting farming schedules to account for these; Diversification of crops grown within and between farms will build resilience to disruption to key periods, such as sowing and harvest, and subsequent loss of yield;
• Investigate the use of drought resistant plants and suitability of new crop species. GM crops should be reviewed, although longer-term action to develop public acceptance will probably be required;
• Promote and develop low energy and efficient irrigation networks within farms. Winter storage reservoirs can keep water in upland and agricultural areas, limiting downstream flood risk and drought impacts. They can also have cross-sectoral benefits through providing water for tackling rural fires, and offer biodiversity and amenity benefits;
• Encourage and promote better soil maintenance and management techniques to reduce erosion, increase summer water retention and enhance field drainage;
• Plant shade / shelter belts (in particular for agricultural crops) to prevent both wind erosion of productive soils and damage to crops. Alongside this promote research and use of wind-resilient crops;
• Assess vulnerability to contamination from urban, rural and agricultural sources, and develop protection measures, including reviewing storage on or off-farm and adopting measures to prevent agricultural or other land being affected;
• Encourage adequate consideration of agricultural vulnerability to flooding and contamination within coastal and flood management strategies (eg SMPs, CFMPs). Over the longer-term, consider farm relocation away from sources of saline and other contamination;
• Keep farming practices under review to ensure they do not exacerbate problems caused by changing weather patterns (eg erosion and waterlogged fields) and if necessary promote wider education about alternative practices;
• Increase pest control and undertake development and review of pest management plans, including to limit import of exotic pests through the Humber ports. Alongside this support research and trials of non-chemical means of pest and disease suppression;
• Encourage greater adoption of biofuels and renewable energy, where viable, and link with local production and supply networks (eg BP Saltend).

Livestock farming

• Provide shelter belt trees and hedges for protection from wind and sun;
• Review breed, and if necessary species, choices to ensure they are well adapted to future conditions (for example more heat tolerant);
• Harvest winter rainfall for use in summer and during drought periods (as above);
• Improve field drainage and soil absorption to reduce churning by livestock, and pasture deterioration;
• Promote and support research to better understand the effects of CO2 fertilisation and climate change on forage quality, and any changes in agricultural practice that may be required to ensure increased growth potential can be realised;
• Increase pest control and undertake pest management plans, especially linked with the import of pests and disease through the Humber ports;

Forestry, where present

• Develop and apply models to predict how ‘suitable climate space’ will change and what the likely impacts are on common species. Maintain methodical research into future impacts on forestry and the particular impacts of climate change. Conduct species and provenance trials to identify appropriate long-term economic tree crops;
• Develop locally-relevant best practice guidance on how to best manage climate change impacts on forestry and native woodland, accounting for local variability;
• Promote schemes to link up fragmented woodlands to reduce their individual vulnerability to wind and other climate changes. Larger woodlands and greater interconnectivity will also support the region’s biodiversity, enabling greater habitat transition through natural landscapes;
• Assess possible sites for new woodland expansion, particularly for flood and erosion amelioration and groundwater recharge. Opportunity mapping should be carried out to identify suitable areas. Afforestation in urban areas should be supported, with due consideration of buffer zones to prevent damage;
• Determine the risk from existing and new pest species and investigate potential changes to develop adaptation strategies, including biosecurity at ports, and invasive species management plans;
• Investigate current and alternative sources of funding to support projects, including through local and regional markets for woodland biomass. Review the potential for diversification into biomass, again through opportunity mapping to ensure groundwater recharge is not negatively affected.

Fisheries
Measures adopted in the fisheries industry, including processing could be carried out through the Yorkshire and Humber Seafood Group. It represents an ideal opportunity to advise businesses and to commission and lead research.

• Support research into likely changes in future distribution of catch species;
• Ensure long-term investment decisions – eg new boats and equipment – are informed by best available information about future catch species;
• Increased predictive modelling of increases in contamination, and dissemination of measures to increase resilience. Carry out at the national and regional level;
• Develop and update monitoring and surveillance, and development of best practice in line with the findings.

Tourism culture and leisure

• In line with the regional Rural Framework intentions, carry out targetted research and support schemes to drive sustainable tourism. This can deliver across sectors, as it will also provide opportunities to strengthen agriculture and forestry;
• As the tourism sector is expected to continue to grow, link rural tourism and other rural policies to ensure they are mutually-beneficial. Integrate responses with social and economic assessments to ensure that widest benefits accrue to the local area, strengthening the rural economy that underpins a significant amount of rural tourism;
• Identify and positively promote changes to future markets, to ensure good awareness within the sector of the UK’s future competitiveness, and identify key features for future development, in order to maximise opportunity early;
• Consider developing new areas for tourism, including previously less-visited areas to enhance possibilities for rural development and reduce visitor impact on traditional sites. Ensure protection of nature conservation and landscape features and carry out sub-area and site assessments to assess impacts, including economic social and environmental, of increasing visitors. If necessary implement appropriate visitor management strategies, and maintain regular review, to limit visitor impact;
• Promote energy and water conservation in local businesses, and promote wider uptake of renewable and low carbon technologies;
• Ensure resilience of local businesses to flooding through preparation of generic flood risk assessment models, for use in regular self-assessment;
• Ensure rapid assessment of the effects of disease outbreaks on tourism and ensure suitable funding is available for recovery projects and to provide up to date information for businesses and visitors;
• Ensure the economic, social and historical value, and considerable local importance, of tourism is appropriately considered in coastal and flood management strategies to prevent eg increased pollution. Also ensure future changes to the tourism market are considered in infrastructure development plans (water, wastewater, transport, power infrastructure, whether centralised or local), to ensure that infrastructure limitations do not limit development;
• Ensure leisure and tourism-related land management practices facilitate water capture and storage, and good levels of percolation. Management of conditions at sports venues may require increased irrigation or changes in grass cover, or the development of different surfaces. Alternatively, consider longer-term activity to manage visitor expectation of sites.

Manufacturing
Impacts on manufacturing will often be very process-specific, and in-depth review will be required on a site-by-site and industry-type basis. As well as adaptations associated with premises and employee comfort, as above, a number of other measures should be considered:

• Develop a generic climate change impact assessment for the manufacturing sector which can enable self-assessment at the individual or sub-sector level;
• Build process adaptations into regular maintenance and upgrade cycles at manufacturing and industrial sites to increase water efficiency, energy efficiency, use of decentralised energy supply and adoption of onsite renewable energy;
• The emergence, re-emergence, or appearance in the UK, of food-borne pathogens and infections may require additional treatment to be built into processing systems. Early identification will be required;
• Measures to address urban flooding, addressed elsewhere, will have a wider impact in reducing the spread of potential contamination to food manufacturing sites. Encourage assessment of individual business and local flood risk, and if necessary implement local flood management measures, for retail and manufacturing parks to prevent flood damage, and product contamination. Within these studies investigate greater use of water storage and re-use, and use of non-potable water for industrial processes to limit future conflicts;
• In the food processing sector, build climate change assessments into periodic reviews of practice. Although high UK standards mean that toxicity and food spoiling should be identified early, particular consideration should be given to processing chains which involve handling and treatment overseas.

Innovation and advanced technology
This sector will be principally affected by impacts on premises and employees, as above and elsewhere. However, particular adaptations include:

• Maximise opportunities for meeting local R&D needs, for instance within the Biosciences sector to address new and more climate resilient crop and tree species.
• As largely urbanised areas the increased use of trees for shading should be investigated in new business parks, and innovation areas. Design should also take into account opportunities to introduce SUDS and surface water management measures;
• Promote good data management practices, including regular backup of information and storage of servers and data stores on higher floors of buildings to limit vulnerability to flood.

Retail
Measures to address impacts of buildings and on employee and customer comfort are addressed above. Other adaptations include:

• Regularly review impacts of climate changes on markets – particularly important for niche retailers. Where new products or enhanced existing markets are likely, position and raise profile in the market early to maximise the competitive advantage;
• Encourage the adoption of water features and shade trees in urban centres, decentralised retail parks and around malls to suppress daily temperature extremes and maintain the attractiveness of the retail offering. These measures can be incorporated in SUDS schemes and related best practice;
• Support the development and encourage the implementation of zero carbon and low energy cooling methods for adoption in new (and retrofit into old) retail centres;
• Ensure local shop networks are maintained to ensure community resilience during extreme events such as floods.

SMEs
As a hard-to-reach group, SMEs should be a priority area for action:

• Initiatives to enhance the business resilience of SMEs should also serve to strengthen resilience to disruptions caused by extreme weather associated with climate change.
• Promote good data management, including regular backup of information and storage of servers and data stores on higher floors of buildings;
• Information specific to dealing with flooding was produced as part of the EU FLOWS project (Floodplain Landuse Optimising Workable Sustainability - Living with flood risk in a changing climate). This included a demonstration project and booklet, available from www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/environment/water/flooding.htm;

Other

• Rural areas, and those associated with traditional industries in particular, tend to be associated with lower levels of innovation. This should be a particular focus of support programmes, looking to maintain viability over the medium term;
• The impacts of heavy rain on flat roofs should be particularly considered in the design and construction of large warehouses and logistics centres. Building design should fully incorporate measures to ensure drainage and source control of heavy rain, and reuse of water where possible;
• Regularly review supply and storage infrastructure as just-in-time delivery may become increasingly susceptible to disruption. Investigate the use of non-road transport networks for non-perishable goods and consider developing additional processing and storage capacity. Low carbon and renewable technologies should be adopted, however, to reduce the contribution to climate change. Support wider research into alternative means of reducing food spoiling, and disseminate findings.

 

top

Adaptations considered in this study are reported at the regional level; for brevity those of relevance to South Yorkshire are summarised below. Overarching activity, identified at the regional level, is not duplicated here.

Strategic sub-regional or local documents should be regularly challenged against the best available information on climate change. This will ensure that planned economic development is climate adapted.

Agriculture, forestry and fisheries
Action within the agriculture sector can be progressed through greater information sharing and liaison between groups such as the National Farmers Union, Country Land and Business Association (CLA) and other sector interests, together with national regional and sub-regional coordination bodies (eg groups such as East Yorkshire Rural Environment Forum), and supported by local authorities. As in other sectors, wider actions aimed at strengthening the sector will help build resilience.

Arable farming

• Both potential increases in yield and greater likelihood of storm damage, especially to particular crops, should be appropriately considered in business plans and future financial modelling. Investigate adapting farming schedules to account for these impacts and to maximise yield from an extended growing season. Diversification of crops grown within and between farms will build resilience to disruption to key periods, such as sowing and harvest, and allow new crops to be introduced. This could include greater adoption of biofuels and renewable energy where appropriate;
• Investigate the suitability of new crop species, including drought resistant plants. Keep the development of GM crops under review as a potential solution. Longer-term action to develop public acceptance will probably be required;
• Promote and develop low energy and efficient irrigation networks within farms. Developing winter storage reservoirs will enable storage of water in upland and agricultural areas, limiting downstream flood risk (through attenuation) and drought impacts. Cross-sectoral benefits would include providing an available source of water for tackling rural fires (addressing an impact identified in the Public and voluntary services section) and biodiversity and amenity benefits;
• Plant shade / shelter belts to prevent both wind erosion of soils and damage to crops. Also promote research into, and use of, wind-resilient crops (eg short wheat);
• Ensure proper soil management to maximise summer water retention, and field drainage, and to reduce erosion. Review chemical and fertilizer application rates in response to any soil loss;
• Assess vulnerability to contamination from urban, rural and agricultural sources, and develop protection measures, including reviewing storage of potential contaminants, whether on or off-farm, and ensuring proper management;
• Encourage adequate consideration of agricultural vulnerability to flooding and contamination within flood management strategies (eg CFMPs);
• Maintain farming practices under review to ensure they do not exacerbate problems such as erosion and waterlogging. If necessary promote wider education about alternative practices and plan investment in better adapted machinery;
• Increase pest control and undertake development and review of pest management plans. Ensure adequate biosecurity measures to limit import of pests, and support research into non-chemical means of pest and disease suppression.

Livestock farming

• Provide shelter belt trees and hedges for outside livestock to provide outside protection from wind, and shade from sun;
• Review breed, and if necessary species, choices to ensure they are well adapted to future conditions (for example more heat tolerant);
• Harvest winter rainfall for use in summer and during drought periods (as above);
• Improve field drainage and soil absorption to reduce churning by livestock, and pasture deterioration;
• Investigate different livestock feeds to reduce the contribution of agriculture to climate change;
• Maintain and review well-developed response plans appropriate to existing and new pests. This should include biosecurity measures, especially in response to the proximity of the ports and future tourist movements, and pest management plans.

Forestry

• As forestry is a long-term industry locally-specific research should be carried out to identify species best suited to projected climate conditions. In particular this should consider local soils and their potential for flooding, waterlogging, and drying out, positive interactions with elevated CO2 and the potential for increased yields, and also negative effects of known and possible pests;
• Develop locally-relevant best practice guidance on how to best manage climate change impacts on forestry and native woodland, accounting for local variability;
• Development of diversified and mixed stands will spread the management risk associated with longer term uncertainty. Seek opportunities to combine new and existing species in mixed stands where suitable sites can be identified. Care is required to ensure that this does not facilitate larger pest populations;
• Promote schemes to link up fragmented woodlands to reduce their individual vulnerability. Opportunity mapping to identify possible sites for new woodland expansion, particularly for flood and erosion amelioration, urban cooling, biodiversity support and to enhance groundwater recharge should be carried out;
• Engage in greater public and business awareness about the risks of woodland fires;
• Determine the risk from pests already in the area, and also wider threats imposed by pests associated with new tree species. Investigate potential pest and disease movements and impacts using the predicted climate changes and develop adaptation strategies. Develop a system of rapid identification and reporting of new pests and diseases, and extensions of range, and produce and implement invasive species management plans, including adequate biosecurity;
• Afforestation as part of climate mitigation schemes may bring additional funding to enable enhanced management. Research opportunities to generate funding from diversifying into production of shorter-lived crops suitable for biomass-derived.

Tourism culture and leisure

• Identify and positively promote changes to future markets, to ensure good awareness within the sector of the UK’s future competitiveness, and identify key features for future development, in order to maximise opportunity early;
• Consider developing new areas for tourism, including previously less-visited areas. Carry out sub-area and site assessments to assess impacts, including economic social and environmental, of increasing visitors. If necessary identify caps on numbers, and implement appropriate visitor management strategies, and maintain regular review, to limit visitor impact on resources;
• Ensure appropriate location and maintenance of new footpaths and cyclepaths, intended to increase access to the countryside, to limit the risk of loss due to flood erosion;
• Promote sustainable tourism within the industry and invest in regional and sub-regional training schemes. Promote energy and water conservation in local businesses, and encourage wider uptake of renewable and low carbon technologies;
• Ensure resilience of local businesses to flooding through preparation of generic flood risk assessment models, for use in regular self-assessment.
• Ensure the value and importance, of tourism is appropriately considered in coastal and flood management strategies to prevent eg increased pollution. Also ensure likely changes to the tourism market are appropriately considered in infrastructure development plans (water, wastewater, transport, power infrastructure, whether centralised or local), so that infrastructure limitations do not exacerbate impacts;
• Include and require additional external amenity space, including parkland and in urban centres, in renaissance and redevelopment plans.
• Management of conditions at sports venues may require increased irrigation or changes in grass cover or other surfaces;
• Regularly review crowd and customer management strategies, and health and safety protocols, to ensure they remain relevant to changing conditions. The timing of annual events may need to be reviewed to limit the likelihood of cancellation or other issues resulting from extreme rainfall or heat.

Manufacturing
Impacts on manufacturing will often be very process-specific, and in-depth reviews should be carried out on a site-by-site and industry-type basis. As well as adaptations associated with premises and employee comfort, as above, other measures include:

• Develop a generic climate change impact assessment for the manufacturing sector which can enable self-assessment at the individual or sub-sector level;
• Build process adaptations into regular maintenance and upgrade cycles;
• Investigate greater use of water storage and re-use, and use of non-potable water for industrial processes to limit future conflicts for limited resources. Aligned with this assess individual business and local flood risk, and if necessary implement local flood management measures to prevent damage and contamination;
• The emergence, re-emergence, or appearance in the UK, of food-borne pathogens and infections may require additional treatment to be built into processing systems. Early identification will be required;
• Establish and maintain strategic links with supplier industries – agriculture, fisheries, etc – and share information on likely changes in future supply/demand to enable early industry response and gain competitive advantages;
• In the food processing sector, build climate change assessments into periodic reviews of practice. Although high UK standards of regulation and oversight mean that incidences of toxicity and food spoiling should be identified early, particular consideration should be given to those processing chains which involve handling and treatment overseas where the changing climate may introduce additional risks;
• Review likely future market changes and position regional and sub-regional industries to maximise future opportunities.

Innovation and advanced technology
Principally affected by impacts on premises and employees, as above and elsewhere, particular adaptations include:

• Support local research into developing markets and opportunities to enable early alignment of regional and sub-regional R&D resources with local needs, for instance within the Biosciences sector to address climate resilient crop and tree species;
• Promote good data management practices, including regular backup of information and storage of servers and data stores on higher floors of buildings to limit vulnerability to flood;
• Maximise the uptake of SUDS and surface water management measures by requiring their adoption on distribution parks, manufacturing parks etc. As largely urbanised areas the increased use of trees for shading should also be investigated.

Retail
Measures to address impacts of buildings and on employee and customer comfort are addressed above. Other adaptations include:

• Regularly review impacts of climate changes on markets – particularly important for niche retailers;
• Ensure SUDS and other best practice surface water management plans are integrated in new retail developments, and encourage the adoption of water features and shade trees to suppress temperature extremes and maintain attractiveness;
• Encourage the implementation of lower energy and zero carbon cooling methods in new, and retrofitted into old, shops and retail centres;
• Ensure local shop networks are maintained to ensure community resilience during extreme events such as floods.

SMEs
As a hard-to-reach group, SMEs should be a priority area for action:

• Initiatives to enhance the business resilience of SMEs should also serve to strengthen resilience to climate change;
• Promote good data management, including regular backup of information and storage of servers and data stores on higher floors of buildings;
• Information produced as part of the EU FLOWS project (Floodplain Landuse Optimising Workable Sustainability - Living with flood risk in a changing climate) included a demonstration project and booklet targetted at small businesses, which investigate retrofitting flood resilience. The booklet is available from www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/environment/water/flooding.htm

Other

• Rural areas, and those associated with traditional industries should be a particular focus of support programmes;
• As largely urbanised areas the increased use of trees for shading should be investigated in business parks, distribution and logistics hubs, and manufacturing parks;
• The impacts of future heavier rain on flat roofs should be considered in the design of large warehouses and logistics centres. Building design should fully incorporate measures to ensure drainage and source control, and reuse, of water;
• Regularly review supply and storage infrastructure. Investigate the use of non-road transport networks for non-perishable goods and consider developing additional processing and storage capacity. Low carbon and renewable technologies should be adopted. Support wider research into alternative means of reducing food spoiling, and disseminate findings through regional and sub-regional networks.

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