The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is collaborating with the UK Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP) on a study of the potential impacts of climate change on the built environment, transport and utilities in the UK. EPSRC is making up to ˇę2 million available for the study. UKCIP's main aim at these early stages is to identify, with professionals in the built environment sector, the information gaps that the study could most usefully address. With this aim in mind, two fora were held in October 2001: The first was hosted jointly by UKCIP and the Construction Industry Council (CIC) at 1 Great George Street, London. The second event, hosted by UKCIP, the Scottish Executive and the Scotland and Northern Ireland Forum for Environmental Research (SNIFFER), was held at the Scottish Executive in Edinburgh.

Our climate is set to change in the coming decades: hotter, drier summers, milder wetter winters, are just some of the changes that we are likely to see in the UK. By the 2050s, one in three summers could be as hot as 1997, more rain will fall in intense bursts and we can expect to see more floods. These changes will affect many aspects of the built environment, at all stages of its life cycle.

Discussions at the fora focussed on identifying the issues and knowledge gaps that concern the sector about the impacts of climate change. This was achieved by eliciting opinion from built environment professionals, in breakout groups covering specific aspects of the built environment. In total, approximately 180 professionals from the private and public sectors attended the events. This report summarises the events. It outlines presentations made during the plenary session and sets out the key research questions emerging from the working groups. Full transcripts of the working groups are provided in Appendix 1. Plenary presentations are available on the UKCIP website at www.ukcip.org.uk/built_enviro/built_enviro.html.

• built environment
• climate change, global warming