Climate change is not an abstract threat. This year people around the world have suffered unprecedented heatwaves, wildfires, and monsoon rains. All are examples of the sorts of extreme weather events that scientists confirm are becoming more frequent and more severe due to climate change.

The Paris Agreement brought the world together in a shared ambition to reduce the man-made causes of climate change. We need to keep pressing ahead with that. But with the impacts of climate change already being felt, we must also start to adapt and build resilience to the changes that are already taking place. According to the World Bank, 100 million people could be pushed into poverty by 2030.

The need is urgent; failure to act now will hit poor countries first and hardest; but in our interconnected world, it will affect us all in one way or another. Regional climate disasters have global impacts. That is why the UK is leading work on resilience at the UN Secretary General’s Climate Summit in 2019.

We want the summit to mark a step-change in the global approach to climate change. Our aim is to ensure we can all better anticipate climate extremes; adapt to them; and absorb their impacts, through effective disaster response. To achieve these goals we need to work across the globe to reduce exposure to disasters and build climate resilience into our economies by factoring our changing climate into investment decisions at home and abroad.

The UK is already working internationally to make this happen. Since 2011, we have helped 47 million people cope with the effects of climate change, in many cases through enhanced adaptation. This is not pure humanitarianism: it makes economic sense. Every dollar invested in climate risk mitigation today saves at least three dollars in disaster response later.

We are supporting the Climate Leadership in Cities Programme in partnership with the cities signed up to the C40 Group, and we will fund 15 city-level climate action plans across Latin America and Asia in the coming years. Another UK programme, called Building Resilience and Adaptation to Climate Extremes and Disasters, is doing what it says – helping 7 million of the world’s poorest people cope with climate shocks.

Importantly, the programme works directly with affected communities and offers a tailored approach to the climate challenges they face – for example by using technology to achieve better harvests, greater access to finance and markets, more accurate weather information, and better disaster preparedness.

Households in target areas have seen their incomes rise by around $200 dollars a year, and early warning systems have helped evacuate more than 12,000 people ahead of rising floodwater. I was recently at the Pacific Islands Forum. Few of us are impacted as directly by climate change as the people of the Pacific Islands, whose very existence is under threat from the seas creeping up their shores. Their plight is one of the world’s most tangible examples of the security threat climate change can cause.

This is why we support the South Pacific Regional Environmental Programme and why, as we expand our diplomatic presence in the region with new High Commissions in Samoa, Tonga, and Vanuatu, climate change will be an increasingly important part of our work there. All countries also need to do what they can to build resilience within their borders. For our part, the UK Environment Agency is working with local partners to address both coastal and inland flood risks and reduce the risk posed to 300,000 homes by 2021.

Our recently published National Adaptation Plan requires public bodies to report on how they are adapting to current and future climate impacts; and later this year we will be launching a revised set of climate projections, through to the end of the century, which will help us plan a more climate-resilient future. We are applying lessons learned at home and abroad to address this global challenge.

In closing. Building societies that are resilient to the changing climate is a team effort. From emergency planning to infrastructure investment, from adaptations in agriculture and land-use to risk financing, and countless other areas. It is a global challenge requiring global solutions and global cooperation. The UK is committed to building ambition and action. We invite national and subnational-governments, the private sector, and civil society, to join us in making the summit next year a success. Galvanizing action to increase resilience in the countries and communities most affected by climate change.

Hundreds of millions of pounds are being invested in road improvements in the coming years, including four major improvement schemes, thousands of maintenance and renewals projects and measure to increase the road network’s resilience to disruption.

Now, business, civic and community leaders from across Kent have been invited to form an advisory group that can advise Highways England, Kent County Council and Medway Council on their priorities and help make sure that roadworks across the county are well coordinated and communicated.

The work is part of a new team, the Kent Corridor Coordination Group, which is made up of Highways England and their delivery partners and local highway authority officers from Kent County Council and Medway Council.

Already the group has helped to benefit drivers by collaborating to rescheduling a planned footbridge replacement to minimise disruption and by facilitating routine maintenance using the same roadworks as major schemes.

Karen Davies, chair of the Kent Corridor coordination group said:

There is a massive amount of investment going into Kent’s road network – bringing significant benefits, but also meaning it is more important than ever that all the work is coordinated closely.

Taken separately or together, the improvements we are delivering in Kent will help to make the county a better place to live, visit and do business in. They represent a huge investment in Kent’s economy, and each project will help to keep journeys safe and reliable.

We appreciate that roadworks can be frustrating, and we are working hard to keep disruption to a minimum and make sure that all the different sets of road works are closely coordinated. The work of this group will help us do just that and we look forward to a productive partnership.

Kent County Council Cabinet Member for Planning, Highways, Transport and Waste Mike Whiting said:

Kent is the gateway to Europe and the stresses and pressures on our roads are unique.

By working together it gives us the best chance to make sure Kent’s road users and communities are kept safe, informed and can make their daily journeys with confidence.

The amount of investment planned for Kent is fantastic, but the potential to cause disruption to Kent’s communities and businesses is very real.

This group has already started to demonstrate and to deliver sensible decisions and actions that have made a positive impact to Kent’s roads and communities.

I am confident that the group will be able to build from these early successes and to make a real long term difference.

We at Kent County Council are proud to be an active partner of the group.

Dover District Councillor Nigel Collor said:

Dover District Council was pleased to take part in this event as we have some unique issues with the Highways England roads, the A2 & the A20, running through our District.

As anticipated traffic grows works currently in hand, including the Lower Thames Crossing, will effect the traffic flows into and out of the Dover area thus local needs require consideration with some urgency. With this in mind Dover District Council has nominated a representative to work with the Group as the coordination moves forward.

Tom Cotton, Head of Licensing and Infrastructure Policy at the Road Haulage Association said:

The RHA welcome improvements to the network, improving journey time and reducing congestion on good quality roads. The RHA advocate faster improvement times, so that the economic benefit can be realised earlier to all road users, even if this is more costly.

The RHA will play a full role in this new advisory panel and ensure that we put the views of our members directly to the people making decisions about roadworks.

South East Coast Ambulance Service Paramedic and Operational Team Leader Ian Heskett said:

SECAmb welcomes the opportunity to be involved in this group and discussions aimed at improving planning and lessening the impact of roadworks across the region. We look forward to working closely with Highways England and other key stakeholders as well as liaising closely with our colleagues in the wider NHS.

Ruth Du Lieu, Medway Council’s Assistant Director of Frontline Services, said:

We will be working in partnership with other highways authorities in the Kent Corridor co-ordination group to ensure that roadworks across these areas cause minimum disruption to road users.

Road improvements under construction include creating a new junction on the M20 near Ashford, upgrading the M20 to a smart motorway between junctions 3 and 5 and work to improve the resilience of the M20 to cross channel disruption. In addition, detailed plans have been published to upgrade two junctions on the A2 and a new flyover for the M2 at junction 5 near Stockbury.

And in the longer term, a new Lower Thames Crossing – the biggest road project in a generation – will create a brand new link between Kent and Essex, spur growth and relieve the congestion at the Dartford Crossing.

General enquiries

Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

Media enquiries

Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.

Nick Lodge, Director General of HMRC’s Strategy Group, has taken up a new position with the Bank of England.

He was first appointed to HMRC’s Executive Committee in 2012 as Director General for Benefits and Credits, and was formally appointed an HMRC Commissioner in the same year. He’s since led Transformation before taking up the new Strategy Group leadership.

HMRC Chief Executive, Jon Thompson, said:

Nick has given a huge amount to this department from its inception to now, leading major change and operational programmes, and providing strong leadership within the Executive Committee and Board. I wish Nick well in his new opportunity and for the future.

Nick Lodge said:

I’m excited to be joining the Bank of England, leading a major programme at the heart of the UK’s financial infrastructure. It’s a great role that I’m really looking forward to and that brings me back to banking, where I began my career.

I’ve loved my time in HMRC. I’ve been very fortunate to have worked with great people, as part of some brilliant teams and in a wide range of different areas. I have every confidence HMRC will continue to deliver.

Interim arrangements for filling Nick’s current role will be announced shortly.

Published 17 September 2018