CCC demands A/C for schools and care homes as UK faces overheating timebomb

The scenario was laid out by the Climate Change Committee’s (CCC) director of external affairs, Sophie Vipond, at a British Safety Council conference last week.

Speaking at the ‘Designing Safer Workplaces’ conference on 19 June, she said: “We need ambitious policy to keep us in the safe space close to 1.5 degrees of global warming.” However, she warned that under the current trajectory, the upper estimate is 4 degrees of warming by 2100.

“We can’t control [what happens politically] - we need to prepare,” she said.

Vipond spoke as part of the ISA Conference held at the iconic Church House venue in Westminster. Photo by Harry Richards photography

To prepare for the worst-case scenario, the CCC is explicitly proposing a major rollout of air conditioning and cooling systems across UK schools, hospitals, and care homes. 

As set out in its recent report, the government should also implement a legal maximum working temperature to protect staff safety and force organisations to invest in cooling.

Vipond’s speech comes as a heatwave this week forces hundreds of UK schools and nurseries to close. The government has also issued preparedness warnings to hospitals and care homes regarding how to care for staff in the heat.

Beyond public buildings, Vipond told delegates at the conference - held alongside the International Safety Awards - that employers in charge of other workspaces can lead the way in adapting to climate change.

“Businesses are always further ahead than government,” she said. “Government’s role is [to ensure] that businesses feel validated and vindicated for their efforts.”

She noted that the Premier League, for example, is already looking into how to maintain football pitches in the event of severe drought.

Climate change is a current reality, she concluded: “The reality is we’re going to have to get to grips with that.”

The ISA Designing Safer Workplaces conference was held on 19 June. More information here