Climate Change Risk Assessment for Wales

The Climate Change Risk Assessment for Wales is a report assessing potential risks and opportunities from climate change facing Wales for the rest of this century.

The Climate Change Act 2008 requires that a Climate Change Risk Assessment be published every five years.

The report provides an overview of the impacts that are considered to be the most important.

From the results, the potentially most significant risks for Wales from climate change appear to be:

•    Increases in hot-weather related death and illness;
•    Changes in soil conditions, biodiversity and landscape due to warmer, drier summers;
•    Reductions in river flows and water availability during the summer, affecting water supplies and the natural environment;
•    Increases in flooding on the coast and inland, affecting people, property and infrastructure;
•    Changes in coastal evolution including erosion and coastal squeeze, affecting beaches, intertidal areas and other coastal features;
•    Changes in species including a decline in native species, changes in migration patterns and increases in alien and invasive species; and
•    Increases in the risk of pests and diseases affecting agriculture and forestry. The risk to livestock is a particular concern.

The potentially most significant opportunities for Wales appear to be:

•    Increases in grass yields, allowing a potential increase in livestock production;
•    Increases in tourist numbers and a longer tourist season; and
•    Reductions in cold-weather related illness and death.