Wildfires and critically low river levels are causing significant environmental damage and economic costs across Europe and North America.
In the UK, drought was declared across half of England and all of Wales in July, following record-low rainfall and exceptionally high temperatures.
With dry conditions continuing into August and no substantial rainfall forecast until September, farmers have warned of food shortages while official drought conditions have extended to more areas.
These conditions are likely to become more severe as the climate warms. Droughts are expected to become more frequent, placing greater pressure on resources and increasing risks to water security, agriculture and food production.
To explore these challenges and possible solutions, this selection of previous IPR blogs examines the policies needed for a more drought-resilient UK.
A re-vision for water
Although England is not seen as a water-stressed country, climate projections tell a different story, with increasingly volatile extremes – periods of both too much and too little water.
The Government’s recognition of this changing climate reality was welcomed by Dr Kemi Adeyeye in her March 2026 blog.
But Kemi also highlighted a significant gap.
The government's 'A New Vision for Water' white paper, published in January 2026, introduced no new measures to reduce water use by households or businesses. Yet there is clear evidence that reducing demand will be central to building England’s long-term water resilience.
Practical mechanisms such as incentives for water reuse, updated product standards, programmes to retrofit existing homes and buildings with water-efficient fixtures and technologies, and initiatives to support behaviour change remain limited.
Without these tools and greater action to reduce demand, delivering a resilient and sustainable water system will be challenging.
IPCC report delivers a stark warning but also a message of hope
An inquiry found the UK Government's approach to climate change to be 'seriously inadequate'.
Following the publication of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) AR6 Synthesis Report in March 2023, Professor Lorraine Whitmarsh MBE at the University of Bath explored the measures available to policymakers to cut emissions and strengthen climate resilience.
Lorraine warned that a House of Lords inquiry had found the Government's approach to be 'seriously inadequate'.
She also warned that there is only a limited window of opportunity to create a safer future, including by protecting food security. Lorraine emphasised how it is essential that people are shown what solutions are available and how they can respond constructively to climate change, including through actions such as reducing consumption of red meat and dairy.
Coronavirus caught our food system on the back foot, but let’s not take a backward step
Does the food system undermine food security by making crises, such as droughts, more likely?
In May 2020, Joanna Lewis, former Policy and Strategy Director at the Soil Association and now CEO of Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, explored the environmental impact of the UK's food system.
Published shortly before the Agriculture Act 2020 became law, Joanna's blog suggested that paying farmers to protect the environment, including water and air quality, should be central to the legislation.
Joanna called for clear objectives to strengthen food supply chains while simultaneously transitioning UK farming towards net zero. But she also highlighted the importance of taking a whole-farm approach, arguing that farmers should be supported to manage environmental impacts across their farms rather than through isolated environmental interventions.
How can circular economy principles be applied to the food sector?
Opportunities to support a more circular food system include using animal waste as fertiliser and crop residues as animal feed.
During her PhD at the University of Bath, Dr Jess Westlake explored how circular economy principles could make the food system more sustainable and resilient.
Published in April 2025, Jess' blog examined how food producers can contribute to a circular economy by finding new uses for waste and by-products, including turning them into food products, agricultural inputs or bioenergy.
She also explored how regenerative agriculture can support a more circular food system at the farm level. This could include using organic fertilisers, growing diverse crop varieties and adopting rotational grazing.
Together, these approaches can improve resource efficiency while supporting nature and biodiversity.
Can ‘natural’ instincts mislead sustainability policy?
A shift towards more crop-based farming could substantially reduce land use and emissions.
Professor Peter Harper and Professor Stuart Reynolds, External Lecturers in Natural Sciences at the University of Bath, explored how different approaches to food production could help protect biodiversity while meeting global food demands.
Their blog considered whether biodiversity is better protected by combining food production with natural habitats (sharing land), or by concentrating food production in some areas to allow other land to be restored for nature (sparing land).
Published in May 2026, Peter and Stuart highlighted that the total biomass of farmed animals is significantly greater than that of wild mammals. They argued that a shift towards more crop-based farming could substantially reduce land use and emissions, potentially helping to ease the tension between sharing and sparing approaches.
Read Peter and Stuart's blog here
Climate change is wrecking our ability to govern for health and equity — health-harming corporations are capitalising
Addressing these issues may require a fundamental rethink of what it means to govern for health.
Dan Hunt, a PhD student at the University of Bath, examined how commercial actors can contribute to ecological damage in pursuit of their business models, including through intensive agriculture.
Published in January 2026, Dan's blog explored how resource-intensive industries, including those associated with ultra-processed foods, can place additional pressures on communities already facing challenges caused by a warming climate. He also highlighted how governments face sophisticated lobbying from the same commercial actors, which can delay or obstruct action on climate change.
Dan argued that in the months and years ahead, the key question is not whether climate change will continue to harm health, but how governments understand and think about climate change and its commercial drivers when making decisions about public health.
All articles posted on this blog give the views of the author(s), and not the position of the IPR, nor of the University of Bath.
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