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Meeting climate targets could reduce flood damage by a fifth, study suggests
Flood waters around Tewkesbury Abbey in January 2023
DAMAGE caused by floods in Britain can be considerably reduced if countries meet their internationally agreed climate targets, a study suggests.
But if the average global temperature reaches 3.3°C above pre-industrial levels, the annual cost to properties and businesses could rise by more than a fifth, researchers from the University of Bristol and flood modelling firm Fathom found.
They found that damage levels can be reined in at just 5 per cent above historical levels, but only if countries around the world honour the pledges they made at the UN climate conference Cop26 in Glasgow.
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