The Environmental Audit Committee, headed by Tim Yeo MP  is calling for programmes to "retrofit" homes with measures to make them more energy and water efficient and resilient to flooding, saying this is needed to help households cope with climate change.  They also warned that new housing developments should only get planning approval if they are designed to suit future changes in the climate, as part of efforts to make sure the UK adapts to rising temperatures.

The MPs claim that efforts to adapt to a changing climate need to be as much of a priority as cutting the greenhouse gas emissions because the UK is already locked in to a rise in temperature, and is expected to experience wetter winters, drier summers and a higher likelihood of heatwaves, storms and flooding. To maintain current levels of flood protection will require real terms spending on defences to increase from around £600m a year now to £1bn in 2035.

And by the end of the century some £7bn may be needed to improve the Thames barrier and tidal defences.

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