The English Way

Climate change makes the probability of extreme weather events much higher. Given the increased likelihood of flooding in England, it's weird that around third of vital flood defences are privately owned (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/31/revealed-a-third-of-england-vital-flood-defences-are-in-private-hands). Around 1000 of these privately-owned English flood defences, are said to be in poor condition. Some, indeed, are on the verge of collapse. Apparently, the Environment Agency (EA) can only 'encourage' owners of flood defences to do maintenance and make repairs. The EA can only move in to make repairs, if loss of life appears imminent. The agency can then only attempt to recoup the costs from the land owners. This is a bonkers system for our present times. Flooding events are not going to disappear, even if there is broad agreement at cop26!