Impacts on UK2 April 2010
Britain may be an island but it can't isolate itself from climate change. Flooding and overheating cities are both signs of the need to act fast.
Here are some of the risks of doing nothing.
Hotter
In a warmer world the UK is likely to see hotter summers and worse droughts. Summers like 2003 - which led to around 2,000 additional deaths from heat - could happen every other year by the 2040s.
Cities like London are already much warmer than surrounding areas. Turning up the air-conditioning will only drive up demand for energy - and boost climate-changing emissions.
Wetter
Wetter winters and more intense rain in summer - the disastrous floods of summer 2009 in the north of England are the sort of events experts say will become commonplace.
The Environment Agency predicts that by the 2080s damage from flooding in the UK could rise from £1 billion to as much as £21 billion a year.
Will our systems cope?
Some of the basics of modern life - things we take for granted - could break down.
- Pressure on mains water as we use more to cool buildings and water gardens and parks
- Power cables perform less well when it's hot
- Sewage systems overwhelmed by flooding drains.
Unfair burden
People who are sick or with disabilities will get the worst of it - through flooding and illness from polluted water.
Low-income families are less likely to have insurance against flooding - and could be stuck when it comes to paying for repairs. Poorer people are more likely to live on flood plains.
People's mental health could suffer - from the stress of property damage and the threat of repeat flooding. Homeowners refused insurance can find it impossible to sell their houses to move out of flood-prone areas.
Yet Britain can be a winner from tackling climate change.
