Urgent action is required to address the threat to transport infrastructure from flooding and global warming, the influential Committee on Climate Change has warned.

 

It said that the UK faces the risk of ‘cascading failures from interdependent infrastructure networks’ and identified the risk to bridges from high river flows and bank erosion as being a priority for further research.

 

It added that more action is needed to address the threat to infrastructure services from river, coastal, surface and ground water flooding. Risks from coastal flooding and erosion are most acute in England and Wales and there are major concerns surrounding slope and embankment failure affecting transport networks across the UK, it said.

 

River or coastal flooding presents a risk to 17% of the country’s railway tracks, 14% of railway stations and 9% of major A roads and motorways, the Committee said. Surface water presents a risk to 9% of rail tracks, 3% of stations and 6% of major roads. And groundwater flooding poses a risk to 17% of rail track, 16% of stations and 9% of major roads.

 

The Committee adds that a four degree rise in temperatures due to global warming by the 2080s could lead to the 2400km of the UK rail network presently vulnerable to flooding rising by 120%.

 

The Committee’s Adaptation Sub-Committee chairman Lord Krebs said: “The impacts of climate change are becoming ever clearer, both in the United Kingdom and around the world. We must take action now to prepare for the further, inevitable changes we can expect. Delaying or failing to take appropriate steps will increase the costs and risks for all UK nations arising from the changing climate.”

 

A government spokesman said: “We are committed to making sure the UK is prepared for the challenges of climate change.

 

“That is why we are investing record amounts in flood defences, developing a long-term plan for the environment and reviewing planning legislation so new construction projects are sustainable and resilient.

 

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