UKCIP resources include publications to download in PDF format, covering technical reports on scientific research, guidance on how to adapt your organisation to climate change, and summary documents for decision-makers who need only an overview.
A full list of our work on adaptation monitoring & evaluation can be found in the Creative adaptation section.
The reports are listed alphabetically by title (below) – you can search each page using your browser search function (usually CTRL+F, or Command+F on a Mac.
A changing climate for business
June 2010
In July 2005 UKCIP launched the UK’s first report to help business assess the impacts that climate change will have on their operations, and to begin the essential process of adapting to a changing climate. This document was updated in June 2010, and is available to download below.
- A changing climate for business (pdf, 2.5 MB)
ARCC annual reports
Adaptation and Resilience in a Changing Climate (ARCC) brings together research projects involving existing buildings and infrastructure, including transport and water resource systems in the urban environment. It is a development of Building Knowledge for a Changing Climate (BKCC) and Sustaining Knowledge for a Changing Climate (SKCC). The ARCC Network was established to help networking between researchers and stakeholders.
- ARCC annual report 2016
- ARCC annual report 2015
- ARCC annual report 2014
- ARCC annual report 2013 (pdf, 1.4 MB)
- ARCC annual report 2012 (pdf, 1.3 MB)
- ARCC annual report 2011 (pdf, 660 KB)
- ARCC annual report 2010 (pdf, 730 KB)
- ARCC annual report 2009 (pdf, 930 KB)
AdaptME – Adaptation monitoring & evaluation
September 2011
Organisations who have undertaken adaptation activities now face the challenge of evaluating what worked, what didn’t, how and why. This toolkit will help you to think through an evaluation of your adaptation activities, and equip you to design a robust evaluation.
- AdaptME – Adaptation monitoring & evaluation (pdf, 3.8 MB)
AdOpt (Identifying adaptation options)
April 2007
Guidance on the identification and selection of adaptation options for use in responding to climate risks.
- AdOpt – Identifying adaptation options (pdf, 5.2 MB)
Attributes of well-adapting organisations
July 2011
A short study which describes the characteristics of organisations that are recognised as adapting well to climate change
- Attributes of well-adapting organisations (pdf, 1.1 MB)
Beating the heat: Keeping UK buildings cool in a warming climate
September 2005
Beating the Heat examines climate change impacts by region, building type, form and fabric, and looks at how designers will need to adapt their understanding of building performance to provide thermal comfort in the future, considering both traditional ‘passive’ and mechanical cooling measures.
- Beating the heat (pdf, 7.4 MB)
Climate adaptation: Risk, uncertainty & decision-making
May 2003
Climate adaptation: risk, uncertainty and decision-making provides a step-by-step decision-making framework to help planners, businesses and government assess the risk posed by climate change, and work out how best to respond.
- Climate adaptation: Risk, uncertainty & decision-making (pdf, 1.2 MB)
Costing the impacts of climate change in the UK: Implementation guidelines
June 2004
Costing the impacts of climate change in the UK helps organisations prepare for climate change. As well as introducing a method for valuing the climate change impacts, it also shows how to compare these to the costs of adaptation, so that organisations can work out how much they will need to spend on adapting to climate change.
- Costing the impacts of climate change in the UK: Overview of guidelines (pdf, 810 KB)
- Costing the impacts of climate change in the UK: Implementation guidelines (pdf, 4.7 MB)
ECCA 2017: Learning from failures in communication
October 2017
Communication in this field is not a ‘cookie cutter’ exercise – it is complex and context specific and requires planning and expertise to be effective. It is also not always a comfortable process.
This workshop session was held as part of the European Climate Change Adaptation conference held in Glasgow on 5–8 June 2017. The objective was to identify and discuss experiences of where climate change communication has not worked.
- ECCA 2017: Learning from failures in communication (pdf, 700 KB)
Engaging users in the development and delivery of climate projections: The UKCIP experience of UKCP09
May 2012
This paper examines how UKCIP engaged users in the development of the UK Climate Projections (UKCP09), identifying the successes of the approach as well as an appraisal of lessons learned.
- Engaging users in the development and delivery of climate projections: the UKCIP experience of UKCP09 (pdf, 1.1 MB)
Gardening in the global greenhouse – the impacts of climate change on gardens
November 2002
A scoping study looking at the impacts of climate change on UK gardens (both domestic and heritage gardens) and on the industry serving the gardening community.
- Gardening in the global greenhouse – the impacts of climate change on gardens summary (pdf, 4.3 MB)
- Gardening in the global greenhouse – the impacts of climate change on gardens technical report (pdf, 2.2 MB)
Lessons from coordinating a knowledge exchange network
June 2016
We explored the challenges associated with knowledge exchange and the lessons learnt through our management of the ARCC network. This report draws together evidence on what works, with contributions from stakeholders and researchers.
- Lessons from coordinating a knowledge exchange network (pdf, 3.6 MB)
LCLIP – A local climate impacts profile
September 2009
LCLIP: is it a changing climate or changing weather events to which local councils must adapt?
- LCLIP – A local climate impacts profile (pdf, 5.6 MB)
Making progress: UKCIP and adaptation in the UK
September 2011
Making progress reviews the work of UKCIP since 2005, looking at its successes and offering insights to what has been learned. It also marks the end of a 14-year relationship with Defra as UKCIP’s major funding partner. The report describes and makes sense of transitions in the UK’s adaptation landscape, and provides a valuable guide for anyone new to adaptation.
- Making progress: UKCIP and adaptation in the UK (pdf, 11.1 MB)
Managing adaptation
January 2011
A guidance note that examines key issues to consider when making the transition from awareness to action.
- Managing adaptation (pdf, 5.8 MB)
Measuring progress: Preparing for climate change through UKCIP
June 2005
UKCIP’s Measuring progress integrates findings from our studies and so develops a national picture of the impacts of climate change and emerging adaptation options. The aim is to provide information for decision makers who want to know how climate change will affect them and what they can do to prepare for it.
Monitoring and evaluation for climate change adaptation: A synthesis of tools, frameworks and approaches
Second edition, May 2014
This report from SEA Change and UKCIP reviews the current major monitoring and evaluation frameworks, identifying key strengths, gaps, and the most suitable audiences for each resource. It highlights the opportunities and challenges facing the implementation of climate change adaptation programmes, enabling professionals and practitioners to identify which materials will help them most.
- Monitoring and evaluation for climate change adaptation: A synthesis of tools, frameworks and approaches Second edition (pdf, 6.6 MB)
First edition: October 2013
- Monitoring and evaluation for climate change adaptation: A synthesis of tools, frameworks and approaches (pdf, 3.4 MB)
Monitoring and evaluation guidance notes
January 2014
In a series of Guidance notes, SEA Change and UKCIP examine the complexities of monitoring and evaluation of climate adaptation programmes. Three short reports look at the specific challenges of M&E for climate change adaptation, how to select indicators, and examine how the Theory of Change approach works in this context.
- Guidance note 1: Twelve reasons why climate change adaptation M&E is challenging (pdf, 430 KB)
- Guidance note 2: Selecting indicators for climate change adaptation programming (pdf, 720 KB)
- Guidance note 3: Theory of Change approach to climate change adaptation programming (pdf, 1.9 MB)
Monitoring and evaluation reviews
May 2014
A series of reviews distilling findings from evaluations of climate change M&E. The first paper shares lessons learned in the design, monitoring, and evaluation of a small number of agriculture and food security programmes across Asia.
Paper 2 identifies trends in how selected international agencies have approached the M&E components of climate change adaptation programmes.
The third paper highlights lessons learned from the evaluation of a group of climate change adaptation programmes in high-risk coastal areas of Asia and the Pacific.
- ER3: Evaluating programmes through a climate adaptation lens: Reflections from coastal areas in Asia and the Pacific (pdf, 900 KB)
Objective setting for climate change adaptation policy
December 2005
This Defra-commissioned report sets out a method for setting adaptation policy, to be used to develop adaptation policy objectives for government departments. It includes example targets and indicators in six priority sectors (water resources, flood and coastal risk management, transport, tourism, agriculture and energy).
- Objective setting for climate change adaptation policy (pdf, 2.1 MB)
Socio-economic scenarios for climate change impact assessment: A guide to their use in the UK
February 2001
The UKCIP socio-economic scenarios are specifically designed to work with climate scenarios and to provide the type of detail likely to be of use for regional and sectoral studies – technical report.
- Socio-economic scenarios for climate change impact assessment summary report (pdf, 340 KB)
- Socio-economic scenarios for climate change impact assessment technical report (pdf, 670 KB)
Transformational adaptation – what it is, why it matters and what is needed
September 2015
We are interested in discovering if transformational adaptation is a useful concept and if there is collaborative work we can do to develop it further.
Through a review of recent literature, and discussions from a workshop for practitioners and academics, we examine the concept of transformation, how it might be applied and priorities for future research and practice.
- Transformational adaptation – what it is, why it matters and what is needed (pdf, 770 KB)
- Transformational adaptation – April 2015 stakeholder workshop summary report (pdf, 2.2 MB)
UKCP09: The climate of the United Kingdom and recent trends
Revised January 2009
This was the first in a series of reports under the umbrella of the UK Climate Projections (UKCP09). It is useful to understand the risks that current climate already poses to individuals, landscapes, organisations and the economy, before moving on to explore future climate risks. This report provides information to support this first step, stimulating better understanding of how the UK’s climate affects our lives.
- UKCP09: The climate of the United Kingdom and recent trends (pdf, 23.8 MB)