Tackling Climate Change: A Holistic Framework for Action
Climate change is the defining challenge of our time. Rising emissions and global temperatures are already triggering devastating floods, heatwaves, wildfires, and ecosystem losses around the world, including here in the UK. But tackling climate change is not only about reducing emissions – it’s about protecting lives, health, infrastructure, and ecosystems from the effects of a warming planet.
What comes first? Mitigation, Adaptation, or Just Transition?
It's a bit of a trick question but, what follows may be thought provoking as we seek to rank the areas of action required to tackle Climate Change effectively . Do all the issues rank equally? Are some more important than other and, on what basis?
But we will start with a thorough explanation.
Either way, let us know what you think. We're in this together.
About this article
What follows is a proposed framework for a full-spectrum climate response. It is not presented as final or complete, but as a starting point for collaboration. I warmly invite your agreement, disagreements, comments, challenges, and suggested changes – all of which will help us build a better, more robust strategy for action together.
Below, we explore the nine key strategic pillars that could underpin a comprehensive climate response and then ask two questions;
Do the 9 pillars cover the full range of human endeavour needed to combat the effects of climate change or, have we left some stones unturned?
More controversially, what is the order of priority of the 9 pillars and, on what basis are you making that choice?
The response to question 2 could shock you to the very core.
🌐 The Role of Innovation, Technology & New Solutions
Before we start, we have to consider the role of “Innovation, Technology & New Solutions”.
Technology and innovation are not standalone goals, but powerful enablers of every strategic pillar. From smart energy systems to AI-driven flood modelling, and from low-carbon materials to new ways of delivering healthcare or food – innovation accelerates impact, improves efficiency, and helps overcome barriers to change.
To reflect this, we’ve added a new column to the full climate strategy table: "Role of Innovation & Enabling Solutions", showing how each pillar is supported by technological, digital, and systemic breakthroughs.
Throughout the narrative below, you’ll also find concrete examples of enabling technologies and approaches for each pillar.
Let’s make a start on considering what needs to be done to tackle every aspect of the Climate Change challenge.
I have set this out in bullet point format rather than a lengthy discursive narrative so you can identify and absorb the information quickly.
We will explore each of these sections, and your responses to them, in future articles, as well as consider the aims, targets and metrics needed to ensure effective achievement of the objectives.
The Nine Strategic Pillars of Climate Change Action
1. Mitigation
The first issue that springs to mind is that of Mitigation with the following aims and key issues;
Aim: Cut greenhouse gas emissions to net zero to limit global warming and avoid the most dangerous impacts.
Key issues: Ending the use of fossil fuels; Renewable energy powered transport, buildings, industry; Energy efficiency; land use to allow absorption of GHGs;
Mitigation is essential to prevent further climate destabilisation. It focuses on eliminating emissions at source and shifting to sustainable systems.
✅ Mitigation: Get to Net Zero within the 1.5°C limit The primary global objective—as agreed in the Paris Accord—is to limit global warming to well below 2°C, ideally 1.5°C, compared to pre-industrial levels.
That requires rapid, deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, leading to Net Zero by mid-century (2050 for most developed countries).
Hitting Net Zero is the only way to stop adding to the problem—it stabilizes the climate by balancing emissions with removals (via nature or technology).
Missing the 1.5°C target significantly increases risks: sea level rise, food insecurity, ecosystem collapse, and more.
Examples of Enabling Solutions & Technology: Long-duration energy storage, carbon capture and storage (CCS), renewable hydrogen, smart grids, zero-emission heating, precision agriculture, low-carbon industrial tech.
2. Adaptation
What most people think of next is "Adaptation" of preparing for the worst of the impacts of Climate Change which scientists and weather forecasters saw we can not now escape.
We are already seeing more frequent extreme weather even in the UK, which is, for now, spared the the extremes of weather other countries are currently experiencing.
Adaptation includes both physical infrastructure (e.g. flood defences, retrofitting buildings) and systemic resilience (e.g. emergency response plans, water management, urban greening) and, the infrastructure we need for daily life such as roads, trains, hospitals, schools, Internet and Phone etc.
This would include:
Aim: Protect people, infrastructure, and ecosystems from the impacts of climate change already locked in.
Key issues: Flooding, heatwaves, drought, water security, food system resilience, public health, critical infrastructure.
Useful publications include "Climate Change Adaptation Manual" from UKCIP
It is the most immediate pillar because climate impacts are already here.
But the problem with Adaptation it that there are a great many things that affect the ease of our life on this life support bubble that we call Earth.
It points to the interconnectedness of the ecosystems, and the need to protect the many, many things that we take for granted. But the list is so long and interdependent that we probably have to consider more radical changes to our behaviour and the way governments and economies structure life for its residents.
Here are 9 Key Issue Areas for Adaptation:
Extreme Weather Preparedness
Flooding and Coastal Erosion
Water Security
Food Security and Agriculture
Health and Wellbeing
Ecosystems and Biodiversity
Infrastructure and Built Environment
Energy Security
Climate Resilience in Governance and Finance
So lets explore some of the changes, or adaptations that need to be made in these 9 adaptation areas
But what do these areas signify for climate action?
⛈️ Extreme Weather & Flooding
Impact of Climate Change: Altered precipitation patterns, more frequent droughts, and flooding will strain water supply systems and reduce the availability of fresh water.
Why Adaptation is Needed: Governments and water utilities must focus on improving water storage, reducing water wastage, and investing in water treatment and recycling technologies.
Impact on Humans:
Increased Cost of Water Supply: As water becomes scarcer, the cost of supply will increase, impacting households, businesses, and industries that depend on consistent water access.
Water Shortages: Areas that were once water-secure may face significant water shortages, leading to restrictions on water use, agricultural impacts, and reduced access to safe drinking water.All new developments to meet climate-resilient design standards by 2027.
Possible actions:
Ensure 100% of high-risk flood areas have up-to-date flood management plans by 2030.
Establish urban heat action plans in all major cities by 2026.
💧 Water Security
Impact of Climate Change: Altered precipitation patterns, more frequent droughts, and flooding will strain water supply systems and reduce the availability of fresh water.
Why Adaptation is Needed: Governments and water utilities must focus on improving water storage, reducing water wastage, and investing in water treatment and recycling technologies.
Impact on Humans:
Increased Cost of Water Supply: As water becomes scarcer, the cost of supply will increase, impacting households, businesses, and industries that depend on consistent water access.
Water Shortages: Areas that were once water-secure may face significant water shortages, leading to restrictions on water use, agricultural impacts, and reduced access to safe drinking water.
Possible actions:
Reduce per capita water consumption to 110 litres/day by 2030.
Restore 75% of rivers and wetlands to good ecological health by 2035.
Eliminate leakage of water supply networks by 50% by 2035.
🌾 Food & Agriculture
Impact of Climate Change: Shifting weather patterns, droughts, and flooding will directly affect crop yields, livestock health, and food production across the UK.
Why Adaptation is Needed: Climate-resilient crops, improved irrigation, and better land management are crucial to ensuring food security in a changing climate.
Impact on Humans:
Increased Food Costs: Reduced agricultural productivity can lead to higher food prices, especially for staple crops, affecting household budgets, especially for lower-income families.
Supply Chain Disruptions: Extreme weather events can disrupt the supply chains, leading to food shortages and increased dependency on international imports, further exacerbating price volatility.
Possible actions:
Support climate-resilient farming on 100% of agricultural land by 2040.
Establish local food security strategies in all councils by 2027.
🏥 Health & Wellbeing
Impact of Climate Change: Rising temperatures, poor air quality, and more frequent extreme weather events will contribute to a variety of health challenges, both physical and mental.
Why Adaptation is Needed: Strengthening health systems, improving emergency response to extreme weather, and addressing the mental health impacts of climate change are essential for adapting to its effects.
Impact on Humans:
Increased Excess Deaths: Extreme heatwaves can lead to more deaths, especially among vulnerable populations like the elderly and those with pre-existing health conditions.
Sickness and Disease: Poor air quality and extreme weather events may lead to respiratory illnesses, heatstroke, and waterborne diseases.
Reduced Mental Health: The anxiety, stress, and trauma caused by extreme weather events, displacement, and loss of livelihoods can lead to a rise in mental health disorders, such as depression and PTSD.
Possible actions:
All local health systems to have climate resilience plans by 2026.
Heat-health early warning systems active in all UK regions by 2025.
Double the number of green and cool spaces in high-risk urban areas by 2030.
🌿 Ecosystems & Biodiversity
Impact of Climate Change: As temperatures rise, ecosystems and species face shifting habitats and the threat of extinction, especially in vulnerable areas like coastal regions and uplands.
Why Adaptation is Needed: Conservation efforts need to be re-evaluated and updated, with a focus on protecting biodiversity and restoring ecosystems that act as natural buffers against climate change (e.g., wetlands and forests).
Impact on Humans:
Collapse of Local Ecosystems: Climate change may overwhelm ecosystems, leading to the loss of essential services like water filtration, carbon sequestration, and flood protection.
Loss of and Extinction of UK Species: Many species may be unable to adapt to rapid environmental changes, resulting in the extinction of native species, which impacts agriculture, tourism, and natural habitats.
Increase in Invasive Species: Warmer temperatures and changing conditions can allow invasive species to thrive, often outcompeting native species and altering local ecosystems, affecting food production and biodiversity.30% of land and seas protected and well-managed by 2030.
Possible actions:
Create nature-based climate buffers (e.g. wetlands, tree cover) in all major catchments by 2030.
Zero net biodiversity loss from development by 2025; net gain thereafter.
🏗️ Critical Infrastructure Beyond Buildings
Impact of Climate Change: Extreme weather events, such as storms, flooding, and heatwaves, will put pressure on the UK's infrastructure, including transport systems, housing, and public buildings.
Why Adaptation is Needed: Building codes, urban planning, and infrastructure investments must be updated to account for the increased risks of climate change.
Impact on Humans:
Failing Transport Networks: Extreme weather, like floods and heatwaves, can damage roads, railways, and bridges, causing widespread transport disruption and isolating communities.
Breakdown of UK Internet: Communications infrastructure may be vulnerable to damage from storms, floods, and heat, making it harder to maintain connectivity during critical times.
Unsafe Schools, Houses, and Hospitals: Buildings not designed to withstand extreme weather may become unsafe, leading to health risks, school closures, and compromised medical facilities.
Possible actions:
Adaptation must include infrastructure that underpins daily life and all need to function is extreme heat, extreme precipitation, drought, and extreme cold as well as rapidly fluctuation weather conditions. Our economy and life relies on many types of infrastructure such as
Transport: roads, rail, bridges, ports, airports
Energy: power stations, substations, grids, renewables
Health & Emergency Services: hospitals, clinics, emergency response
Food Systems: cold storage, distribution centres, rural roads
Finance and Government IT: payment systems, crisis coordination
Education and Social Care: schools, care homes, nurseries
All must be climate-proofed and continuously operational during shocks.
⚡ Energy Resilience
Impact of Climate Change: Energy systems will be disrupted by extreme weather events and changing demand patterns due to increased heating or cooling needs.
Why Adaptation is Needed: Investments in renewable energy, energy storage, and grid infrastructure are crucial to ensure a reliable energy supply in the face of climate change.
Impact on Humans:
Increased Energy Costs: Higher demand for energy during heatwaves or cold spells will lead to increased energy costs, impacting households and businesses.
Blackouts: Extreme weather can disrupt energy supplies and infrastructure, leading to power outages and blackouts, affecting daily life, healthcare, and communication.
Possible actions:
All energy networks to be climate-stress tested and adapted by 2030.
Local renewable backup systems in place for critical services by 2030.
🏛️ Governance & Planning
Impact of Climate Change: Effective governance systems are needed to integrate climate risks into decision-making, but current structures often lack the capacity to respond to the growing scale of climate-related challenges.
Why Adaptation is Needed: Policymakers must strengthen governance frameworks, invest in climate adaptation, and ensure that financial systems can support long-term climate resilience.
Impact on Humans:
Increased Financial Instability: Lack of preparedness and investment in climate resilience can lead to higher costs for adaptation, economic losses, and strained public resources.
Weak Governance Responses: Inadequate climate resilience policies can result in poor community responses, increased vulnerability, and long-term social and economic consequences.
Possible actions:
All public bodies required to integrate climate risk into decision-making by 2026.
Local adaptation plans co-produced with communities in every authority by 2028.
Given the sheer volume of issues that need to be invested in and managed, technology and visionary thinking are needed more than ever.
Here are a few examples of Enabling Solutions: AI-driven flood modelling, passive cooling materials, heatwave alert systems, digital twin models for urban resilience, early-warning systems, and green infrastructure data platforms.
3. Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR)
CDR will be necessary to counterbalance emissions from sectors that are hard to decarbonise, and to draw down legacy emissions already in the atmosphere. But do we use low tech trees or is their a magic bullet to save us? One that will be scalable, energy efficient and arrive soon enough?
Let's explore this;
Aim: Remove carbon from the atmosphere to help reach net zero and repair past damage.
Key issues: Long-term storage reliability, land-use conflict, energy requirements, public acceptance.
Research and regulate engineered CDR (e.g. DACCS, BECCS).
Ensure ethical governance, monitoring and equity.
Targets:
Deliver 10 Mt CO₂/yr of CDR capacity in the UK by 2035.
Establish UK CDR governance framework by 2027.
All CDR projects to meet robust sustainability and equity standards.
Examples of Enabling Solutions: Direct air capture (DAC), biochar, ocean alkalinity enhancement, AI-optimised afforestation sites, blockchain for CDR verification, MRV (Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification) platforms.
4. Climate Justice & Just Transition
Climate justice addresses the unequal burdens and benefits of climate change and climate action. A just transition ensures no one is left behind as economies decarbonise. This pillar puts people at the centre of climate strategies. If you are poor, elderly, a child or vulnerable, the impact of Climate Change and extreme weather will have a greater effect on you than if you are wealthy or healthy. And if you are wealthy and healthy, perching.
Let's explore this area further.
Aim: Ensure climate action is fair and inclusive, and that vulnerable groups are supported through the transition.
Key issues: Energy poverty, loss of livelihoods in high-carbon industries, access to green jobs, social inclusion, youth and intergenerational justice, race and gender equity.
Priorities for Action:
Protect low-income households from rising energy and food costs.
Provide retraining and job guarantees for workers in fossil fuel-dependent sectors.
Ensure participation of marginalised communities in climate planning and governance.
Embed climate equity assessments in all major policy and investment decisions.
Promote climate reparations and international solidarity with Global South countries.
Targets:
All public climate plans to include equity impact assessments by 2026.
Local green skills training programmes available in every region by 2028.
Net-zero job guarantee scheme piloted in all former industrial and energy transition zones by 2030.
Examples of Enabling Solutions: Online green skills training platforms, community solar and microgrids, smart meters for energy equity, inclusive civic tech for public engagement, translation apps for participatory planning.
Should we care about the poor, children, the elderly and vulnerable?
5. Nature Restoration
Nature Restoration sits at the heart of many of the other issues being discussed including;
Storing carbon in trees, vegetation and wildlife that exist both above the ground and importantly, below the ground
Green areas provide active cooling compared to built up areas
They also hold water and so help reduce flooding and flash flooding
They act as reservoirs for water and ground water.
Natural environments are an asset for human mental health
Healthy ecosystems underpin food systems, flood protection, water supply, and human health. Nature restoration is both a mitigation and adaptation solution, but it also holds cultural, recreational, and spiritual value.
Nature Restoration is not just for biodiversity, not just to help us satisfy our moral or ethical responsibility to nature, or even to just to maintain the global biodiversity as an asset for further economic and medical advancements.
Priorities for Action could include:
Restore peatlands, wetlands, rivers, forests and coastal habitats.
Reform agriculture to reduce pesticide use and regenerate soil.
Expand urban green space and rewild degraded landscapes.
Targets could be:
30% of UK land and sea to be protected for nature by 2030.
Double tree cover and hedgerows in farmland by 2040.
Restore 100,000 hectares of degraded peatland by 2035.
Plant a Billion Trees
Examples of Enabling Solutions: Drone-assisted reforestation, bioacoustic monitoring for biodiversity, satellite mapping of ecosystem health, soil sensors, environmental DNA (eDNA) tracking, citizen science apps.
6. Climate Resilient Development
If Adaptation is about coping with climate threats that are already “locked in”, Resilient Development is about designing our future so we thrive in a changing climate — not just survive.
It's a nuance which you may not agree with and, you may prefer to lump this into Adaptation of Infrastructure. Your choice but, let's explore it further anyway.
This pillar focuses on redesigning our systems to thrive under climate pressure. It aligns economic and social development with resilience, ensuring continuity of services and reducing the vulnerability of communities.
Aim: Integrate climate resilience into economic development, infrastructure, housing, planning and public services.
Key issues: Risk-proofing new developments, social and spatial inequalities, urban planning, economic inclusion, local investment.
Priorities for Action:
Make resilience a condition of funding for all infrastructure and housing projects.
Promote local circular economies and climate-resilient jobs.
Ensure transport, education, and care systems are designed to operate under future climate stress.
Targets:
All local development plans must include climate risk assessments by 2026.
Resilience standards integrated into planning guidance by 2027.
80% of new housing stock to be climate-resilient by 2030.
Examples of Enabling Solutions: Digital twins for infrastructure design, climate-resilient building materials, circular economy logistics, green roofs and walls, climate-integrated transport routing tools.
7. Systemic & Behavioural Change
This pillar focuses on how individuals, institutions and communities change their practices. Behaviour change must be enabled by infrastructure, incentives, and narratives that make sustainable choices the easiest and most attractive but, people also need to buy into their responsibility.
A question for people who espouse freedom of choice is, when should be rightfully limit personal choice? We have laws against rape, and murder, and child abuse so, in Climate Change, where is the line where one person's choice limits another person's rights?
Let's explore the issue of systemic and behavioural change further;
Aim: Transform social norms, lifestyles, and consumption patterns to support a sustainable, low-carbon society.
Key issues: Overconsumption, car dependency, meat-heavy diets, cultural values, advertising, education.
Priorities for Action:
Promote low-carbon lifestyles through public engagement, schools, and community networks.
Encourage plant-based diets, active travel, and zero waste.
Regulate advertising for high-carbon products and services.
Targets:
Cut food waste by 50% by 2030.
Halve car miles driven per capita by 2035.
All schools to include climate literacy in the curriculum by 2028.
Examples of Enabling Solutions: Behavioural nudging through digital platforms, diet-shifting apps, mobility-as-a-service tools, digital labelling, smart consumption dashboards, immersive education (e.g. VR climate simulations).
8. Governance & Accountability
Strong and visionary governance can turn good intentions into real progress. This pillar ensures decision-makers are held to account, and that climate goals are legally and structurally embedded across systems.
Priorities for Action:
Create statutory climate duties for public bodies.
Establish independent local climate watchdogs.
Strengthen scrutiny, transparency and public reporting.
Targets:
All local authorities to report annually on climate progress by 2026.
National Climate Accountability Act passed by 2027.
Climate considerations embedded in Treasury decisions by 2028.
Examples of Enabling Solutions: Climate data dashboards, AI-powered policy impact tracking, open-source emissions reporting platforms, blockchain for transparency in offsets, civic engagement platforms.
You remember the saying, Evil happens when good people do nothing? Perhaps that applies here `to as we each hold our politicians and civil servants accountable.
9. Finance Transformation
The financial system plays a strong role in determining what is possible. Redirecting capital flows is critical for unlocking clean energy, green infrastructure, and climate-resilient economies.
Aim: Align public and private finance with climate-safe outcomes and divest from high-carbon activities.
Key issues: Fossil fuel subsidies, green finance access, insurance, investment risk, public procurement.
Priorities for Action:
End public subsidies for fossil fuel extraction and infrastructure.
Create green investment banks and local climate funds.
Introduce mandatory climate risk disclosure and net zero alignment for all financial institutions.
Targets:
100% of UK government and pension fund investments aligned with net zero by 2030.
All large firms to publish credible transition plans by 2026.
Public procurement to favour climate-positive solutions by default from 2027.
Examples of Enabling Solutions: ESG data platforms, AI for climate risk modelling, automated green procurement tools, tokenised carbon markets, climate-aligned fintech solutions.
The Controversial Bit
We can't do everything at once so, how would you prioritise these 9 pillars, some of which are more impactful because of their connection to other pillars, and why.
Let's imagine that our priority driver was the immediate impact on humans.
In that case, the order of priority might look like this; Adaptation > Climate Justice & Just Transition > Climate Resilient Development > Mitigation > Nature Restoration > Systemic & Behavioural Change > Governance & Accountability > Finance Transformation > Carbon Dioxide Removal
Do you agree? How would you rank the pillars for action and priority?
🚀 What Happens Next – And How You Can Help
This article is the first in an ongoing series which will include;
What strategic pillars should make up a full climate strategy? (this article)
What should the aims, targets and metrics be for each area at 1.5°C? (next article)
How would these change for a 2°C or 3°C world? (final article)
Now we need your input:
A) Does this article miss any strategic pillar or issue?
B) How would you rank these pillars by their impact on people, the economy, or the natural world? And why?
Your insights will help shape our proposals for a new statutory climate duty for local authorities – one that is comprehensive, fair, and grounded in real-world priorities.
📢 Let’s shape the future together. Join the conversation – and bring others with you.
We want to create solutions for local authorities. Tell us what problems you are experiencing and, we will find solutions. Click here
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This website is managed by a cross-party group of councillors and volunteers from across the UK who share a common interest in supporting local authorities to meet their statutory duties on climate change.
