As climate breakdown increases, the cycle of droughts and floods in the U.K. will intensify. We've seen in recent weeks the devastation that this can cause. The stats are terrifying: half of England's potato crop is expected to fail this year. Even drought-tolerant maize — which is only grown in the south of England because the rest of the U.K. is too cold and wet — is struggling in the heat.

People are suffering now, so short-term solutions are needed. With both food and fuel prices spiraling, it will be a grim winter, so medium-term planning is required too. But, of course, we need a long-term strategy.

Changes to Britain's climate are now inevitable. And that doesn't just mean that England's pastures green will turn into French wine country, as too many news producers like to imagine. More carbon in the atmosphere means increased energy in our weather systems. That means greater intensity as well as more warmth — not so much the calm balm of the historic south of France as cycles of climate chaos.

Although we must do what we can to avoid pumping more energy into that system (by eliminating carbon-based energy), we also have to accept and adapt to what is coming: cycles of dry and wet, driving natural disasters of a kind our islands aren't accustomed to.

Much of that adaptation means rethinking our land use. At the moment, water falling on to higher ground often lands on barren moors, overgrazed by sheep or burned for grouse shooting. Where once there were trees, now any stems that break through the soil are munched by an ungulate or fried in a fire.