Deborah Akinyosoye
Britain’s Labour government on Monday announced plans to invest almost £8 billion ($11 billion) in flood defences over the next 10 years, citing growing risks posed by climate change.
The funding forms part of an infrastructure strategy to be outlined this week, detailing the government’s long-term plan to invest billions of pounds in delivering major infrastructure projects.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government said the new funds will “protect hundreds of thousands of homes, small businesses, and vital infrastructure from the growing threat of flooding”.
It will go towards building flood barriers and nature-based solutions such as wetland restoration.
The Climate Change Committee, an expert group that advises the government, warned in April that Britain is not properly prepared for severe floods and unprecedented heatwaves.
“This government is taking urgent action with the largest flooding programme in our country’s history,” Environment Minister Steve Reed said in a statement on Monday.
“We inherited crumbling flood defences in their worst condition on record, exposing thousands of homes,” he added.
Labour won a general election last July following 14 years of Conservative rule.
A recent government report estimated that around 6.3 million properties in England are at risk of flooding, with that number expected to rise to more than eight million by 2050.
It is estimated that more than half of the country’s highest-quality agricultural land and over a third of its railways and roads are vulnerable.
Britain in recent years has been battered by major storms and heatwaves, with many places registering record 40-degree Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) temperatures in July 2022.
Scientists warn that extreme and fluctuating weather events are becoming increasingly common as planet-heating fossil fuel emissions continue to rise.