Debate on the Address

I agree that that is most regrettable, and I will come to it in a moment. The midlands Environment Agency is running a flood awareness campaign this year, as you may be aware, Madam Deputy Speaker, as it is your region as well as mine. Floodline Warnings Direct is to be the UK’s first integrated multi-channel warning system, providing flood warnings and information to the public, professional partners and the media across England and Wales. That is the sort of thing that we need. We are all aware of the tsunami in the far east today and the warning systems that are being set up there for a much more immediate disaster—with a tsunami 2 m high travelling at 1,000 km an hour across the Pacific ocean, it gets across it pretty quickly. Lives can be saved by having such awareness and warning systems. I am delighted that the midlands Environment Agency is doing that—would that it had happened a little while ago. To return to the comments of the hon. Member for North Norfolk (Norman Lamb), it is regrettable that the flood defence budget has been cut this year. We need to put that in context. My understanding is that the budget is £428 million, that the cut has been £15 million this year and that that is on the back of a Government increase of 35 per cent. Therefore, generally, we have been going in the right direction. To try to put the £428 million into some perspective for hon. Members, we should all remember that when New Orleans faced Hurricane Katrina, it thought that its flood defences were going to hold—but they did not hold. There was a huge disaster there that cost tens of billions of dollars, let alone the loss of life and the disruption to people’s lives and livelihoods. Hull has an ageing flood defence barrier that will cost an estimated £20 million to replace. It is big bucks. The national budget, which I think covers just England and Wales, is £428 million, and £20 million of it is just for Hull. Portsmouth is spending £150,000 a year on flood defences, understandably, given that it is, like Hull, a coastal city. It needs to spend £35 million on a new system. We are talking about big figures and a big commitment from any Government. I would rather we started fast now than waited until Hull faced catastrophic flooding, where the cost would certainly be more than £35 million. To do that we need to focus on the effects of climate change and the adaptation strategy. I will finish with a quote from page 404 of the Stern report:"““Quantitative information on the costs and benefits of economy-wide adaptation is currently limited.””" I will make no comment on Stern and the rectitude of his report, but I find it absolutely shocking that even someone as eminent as Stern, who tried to look into the matter, cannot get quantitative information on how our country should be adapting to the greatest meteorological and climatic challenge that we face. Today, as far as I understand, we are to have a climate change Bill that looks to be very good on the causes of emissions, yet says nothing about effects and adaptation. Our children and grandchildren will rue the day that we focused so much on emissions, which are part of a global issue, and did not focus enough on something entirely in our hands—adaptation.