MPs launch investigation into learning to live with rising temperatures

As the UK swelters in heatwaves driven by the El Nino weather pattern, which has pushed up global temperatures in recent weeks, the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) has launched a new inquiry on heat resilience and sustainable cooling.

Climate change is causing warmer summers, and in the predecessor Committee’s 2018 report on heatwaves, MPs reported that carbon emissions from human activities had doubled the likelihood of severe heat events.

Building on the evidence base of the predecessor Committee’s report, the new inquiry will focus on three overarching issues:

• The relationship between heat and health, and which communities are most affected. Between June and August 2022, the five heat-periods resulted in excess mortality of 3,271 deaths, of which 2,803 were those aged over 65. MPs will be seeking to understand better how the most vulnerable can be better protected;
• Government policies in relation to current and future need for cooling. The Climate Change Committee has previously warned that the Government’s progress on adaptation fails to adequately address the risks identified, and that the effect of increasing temperatures on human health was highlighted as a particular weakness;
• What measures could be taken to increase adaptation and resilience to rising temperatures. MPs will aim to uncover sustainable cooling solutions and adaptation strategies that minimise overheating, reduce energy consumption and prevent overloading the electricity grid. Many look to air conditioning units in warmer temperatures, but there could be less energy-intensive alternatives such as solar protection devices, ceiling fans and nature-based solutions.

MPs are aiming to understand how communities can better adapt to increased temperatures without relying on energy-intensive solutions, such as air conditioning units. Last month Britain’s 46-day run of coal-free electricity generation was broken as coal power stations were brought into action to meet the demand for air conditioning.

Environmental Audit Committee Chairman, Rt Hon Philip Dunne MP, said: “Climate change is causing hotter summers for us all, and we must learn to adapt better. The number of heat-related deaths is already too high, and the trend seems to be upwards.

“We need to break the cycle of using energy-intensive cooling solutions – like air-conditioning – to manage the higher temperatures we are experiencing. There may well be better and more sustainable alternatives, and our Committee will seek to explore these further.

“I would like to thank Associate Professor Radhika Khosla and Dr Nicole Miranda at the University of Oxford for bringing forward the suggestion to launch this inquiry at our Committee's 25th anniversary event. It is a timely investigation following the recent warm weather, and will act as a 5-year update on our predecessor Committee’s report on heatwaves.”

“In February, during the Committee’s 25 Year Anniversary event at Imperial College London, University of Oxford academics Associate Professor Radhika Khosla and Dr Nicole Miranda pitched an inquiry for the Committee to launch this inquiry considering heat adaptation.”