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The government has presided over a “lost decade” and risks exposing the UK to a host of climate threats because of “lacklustre planning and preparation”, its advisers have said.

The preparedness of various sectors such as food security, water supply, transport, health, business, agriculture and finance are “lacking across the board” due to a failure to adapt, a report from the Climate Change Committee (CCC) has found.

Of the 45 adaptation outcomes the government wants to achieve, the CCC, which advises the government on its climate policy, said only five have fully credible plans.

Meanwhile, there is no evidence of effective measures being implemented in any of them.

Baroness Brown, chairwoman of the CCC’s adaptation committee, said: “The last decade has been a lost decade in terms of preparing for and adapting to the risks – the risks we already have and those that we know are coming.

“Whilst we’ve seen some progress in planning for climate change, in fact there is still very little evidence of impact on the ground.”

Baroness Brown said last summer was an example when the country experienced record-breaking 40C temperatures, 1,000 heat-related deaths, 20% of hospital operations cancelled, rail disruption, widespread drought and a spate of wildfires that destroyed dozens of homes.

She added: “The government’s lack of urgency on climate resilience is in sharp contrast to the recent experience of people in this country.

“People, nature and infrastructure face damaging impacts as climate change takes hold. These impacts will only intensify in the coming decades.”

Even if the global goal of reaching net zero is achieved, the climate will continue to warm for another 30 years, said Chris Stark, the CCC’s chief executive, so the UK must prepare for hotter and more unstable conditions.

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The government’s National Adaptation Programme (NAP), however, which sets out its plan to prepare for climate change, “fails to match the challenge facing the country”, the CCC said.

It lacks vision, is not underpinned by tangible outcomes or targets and has not driven policy or implementation across government, they added.

The third NAP, due for publication this summer, is a “make-or-break moment to avoid a further five years of lacklustre planning and preparation”.

Gareth Redmond-King, international lead at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, said: “Food supply is just one of the ways our national security is imperilled by an increasingly unstable world.

“Last year, gas prices and climate impacts added hundreds of pounds to British consumers’ food bills.

“This year, yields of some vegetable crops have fallen off the back of extreme heat and subsequent drought.”

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Professor Chris Hilson, director of the Centre for Climate and Justice at the University of Reading, said: “Climate adaptation policy must be joined up with policy on mitigation.

“With homes overheating in summer heatwaves, for example, there is little point spending money on this without at the same time tackling poor insulation and energy efficiency to cope with cold winter temperatures.”

Green Party MP Caroline Lucas added: “In the past year we’ve seen flooding, drought, chronic food shortages and the hottest temperatures on record – the climate emergency has well and truly arrived.

“Not only are we ill-equipped for what’s happening now, but we’re also nowhere near ready for what could happen in the future. Adapting to the climate emergency is not a matter of choice, but necessity.

“Mitigating its very worst impacts – while delivering green and resilient homes, healthy and low-carbon food and a restored natural world – requires not just more planning, but also more political will to act with real urgency.”

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Stock markets slump for second day running after Trump announces tariffs – in worst day for indexes since COVID

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Stock markets slump for second day running after Trump announces tariffs - in worst day for indexes since COVID

Worldwide stock markets have plummeted for the second day running as the fallout from Donald Trump’s global tariffs continues.

While European and Asian markets suffered notable falls, American indexes were the worst hit, with Wall Street closing to a sea of red on Friday following Thursday’s rout – the worst day in US markets since the COVID-19 pandemic.

As it happened: Worst week’s trading in five years

All three of the US’s major indexes were down by more than 5% at market close; The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 5.5%, the S&P 500 was 5.97% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 5.82%.

The Nasdaq was also 22% below its record-high set in December, which indicates a bear market.

Read more: What’s a bear market?

Ever since the US president announced the tariffs on Wednesday evening, analysts estimate that around $4.9trn (£3.8trn) has been wiped off the value of the global stock market.

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Mr Trump has remained unapologetic as the markets struggle, posting in all-caps on Truth Social before the markets closed that “only the weak will fail”.

The UK’s leading stock market, the FTSE 100, also suffered its worst daily drop in more than five years, closing 4.95% down, a level not seen since March 2020.

And the Japanese exchange Nikkei 225 dropped by 2.75% at end of trading, down 20% from its recent peak in July last year.

Pic: Reuters
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US indexes had the worst day of trading since the COVID-19 pandemic. Pic: Reuters

Trump holds trade deal talks – reports

It comes as a source told CNN that Mr Trump has been in discussions with Vietnamese, Indian and Israeli representatives to negotiate bespoke trade deals that could alleviate proposed tariffs on those countries before a deadline next week.

The source told the US broadcaster the talks were being held in advance of the reciprocal levies going into effect next week.

Vietnam faced one of the highest reciprocal tariffs announced by the US president this week, with 46% rates on imports. Israeli imports face a 17% rate, and Indian goods will be subject to 26% tariffs.

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Do Trump’s tariffs add up?

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Markets gave Trump a clear no-confidence vote
There were no winners from Trump’s tariff gameshow

China – hit with 34% tariffs on imported goods – has also announced it will issue its own levy of the same rate on US imports.

Mr Trump said China “played it wrong” and “panicked – the one thing they cannot afford to do” in another all-caps Truth Social post earlier on Friday.

Later, on Air Force One, the US president told reporters that “the beauty” of the tariffs is that they allow for negotiations, referencing talks with Chinese company ByteDance on the sale of social media app TikTok.

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Tariffs: Xi hits back at Trump

He said: “We have a situation with TikTok where China will probably say, ‘We’ll approve a deal, but will you do something on the tariffs?’

“The tariffs give us great power to negotiate. They always have.”

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Financial markets were always going to respond to Trump tariffs but they’re also battling with another problem

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Financial markets were always going to respond to Trump tariffs but they're also battling with another problem

Global financial markets gave a clear vote of no-confidence in President Trump’s economic policy.

The damage it will do is obvious: costs for companies will rise, hitting their earnings.

The consequences will ripple throughout the global economy, with economists now raising their expectations for a recession, not only in the US, but across the world.

Tariffs latest: FTSE 100 suffers biggest daily drop since COVID

Financial investors had been gradually re-calibrating their expectations of Donald Trump over the past few months.

Hopes that his actions may not match his rhetoric were dashed on Wednesday as he imposed sweeping tariffs on the US’ trading partners, ratcheting up protectionism to a level not seen in more than a century.

Markets were always going to respond to that but they are also battling with another problem: the lack of certainty when it comes to Trump.

More on Donald Trump

He is a capricious figure and we can only guess his next move. Will he row back? How far is he willing to negotiate and offer concessions?

Read more:
There were no winners from Trump’s tariff gameshow
Trade war sparks ‘$2.2trn’ global market sell-off

These are massive unknowns, which are piled on to uncertainty about how countries will respond.

China has already retaliated and Europe has indicated it will go further.

That will compound the problems for the global economy and undoubtedly send shivers through the markets.

Much is yet to be determined, but if there’s one thing markets hate, it’s uncertainty.

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Court confirms sacking of South Korean president who declared martial law

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Court confirms sacking of South Korean president who declared martial law

South Korea’s constitutional court has confirmed the dismissal of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached in December after declaring martial law.

His decision to send troops onto the streets led to the country’s worst political crisis in decades.

The court ruled to uphold the impeachment saying the conservative leader “violated his duty as commander-in-chief by mobilising troops” when he declared martial law.

The president was also said to have taken actions “beyond the powers provided in the constitution”.

Demonstrators who stayed overnight near the constitutional court wait for the start of a rally calling for the president to step down. Pic: AP
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Demonstrators stayed overnight near the constitutional court. Pic: AP

Supporters and opponents of the president gathered in their thousands in central Seoul as they awaited the ruling.

The 64-year-old shocked MPs, the public and international allies in early December when he declared martial law, meaning all existing laws regarding civilians were suspended in place of military law.

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More on South Korea

The Constitutional Court is under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement of the impeachment trial. Pic: AP
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The court was under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement. Pic: AP

After suddenly declaring martial law, Mr Yoon sent hundreds of soldiers and police officers to the National Assembly.

He has argued that he sought to maintain order, but some senior military and police officers sent there have told hearings and investigators that Mr Yoon ordered them to drag out politicians to prevent an assembly vote on his decree.

His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December, accusing him of rebellion.

The unanimous verdict to uphold parliament’s impeachment and remove Mr Yoon from office required the support of at least six of the court’s eight justices.

South Korea must hold a national election within two months to find a new leader.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, is the early favourite to become the country’s next president, according to surveys.

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