Adapting to Change

Risk Registers

What is Climate Risk?

Climate risk refers to the exposure and vulnerability of humans and ecological systems to climate-related hazards, such as floods, heatwaves, drought and rising sea levels. These hazards are growing in frequency and severity and intensifying due to average global temperature rise, brought about by man-made climate change. 

Climate projections show that over the coming decades we will face an increased risk of climate change impacts, including:

  • Extreme rainfall, leading to more frequent and severe floods
  • Heat waves
  • Drought
  • Storms
  • Wildfires.

The UK Government has identified eight priority climate risks:

  • Risks to the viability and diversity of terrestrial and freshwater habitats and species from multiple hazards.
  • Risks to soil health from increased flooding and drought.
  • Risks to natural carbon stores and sequestration from multiple hazards, leading to increased emissions.
  • Risks to crops, livestock and commercial trees from multiple climate hazards.
  • Risks to supply of food, goods and vital services due to climate related collapse of supply chains and distribution networks.
  • Risks to people and the economy from climate-related failure of the power system.
  • Risks to human health, wellbeing and productivity from increased exposure to heat in homes and other buildings.
  • Multiple risks to the UK from climate change impacts overseas.

At Watford Council, we have commited to:

  • Ensure corporate and service risk registers explicitly address climate change, and report on climate incidents by 2024.
  • Have all our operations and services ready for future climates (based on most up to date climate projections for the UK) by 2030.
  • Ensure that the council has addressed the government’s 8 priority risk areas by 2025.
  • Ensure that information and education is available about climate change, risk and adaptations for local people and groups by 2024, and regular (at least annual) updates are sent thereafter.

If you're a local business, looking to plan for and manage climate risks, ensure you have an effective risk register for all your operations, which includes the implications of climate change and biodiversity loss. Reference climate change when planning for risks such as flooding, extreme heat, cold weather because as the climate changes the frequency and severity of these risks will intensify. When describing how to address the risks, you should include both adaptation actions and mitigation steps to reduce the risk happening in the first place. 

Here are some resources to help you manage climate risk as a business: