Scottish climate change adaptation programme 2019-2024: strategic environmental assessment

1 Scottish climate change adaptation

1.1 Introduction

1.1.1 The Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 (The 2009 Act) places a duty on Scottish Ministers to lay a programme for climate change adaptation before the Scottish Parliament as soon as reasonably practicable after publication of each UK Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA).

1.1.2 The first Scottish Climate Change Adaptation Programme (SCCAP1) was structured around three cross-sectoral themes and addressed the risks identified by the first CCRA^[3]. The draft Second Scottish Climate Change Adaptation Programme (’the draft programme’) is part of an iterative process which follows on from SCCAP1, with each successive programme required to set out Scottish Ministers’ objectives for adaptation to climate change and their proposals and policies for meeting those objectives. The draft programme is intended to address the impacts identified in the second CCRA,^[4] as well as the related summary report for Scotland^[5] as required by section 56 of the UK Climate Change Act (2008) (the 2008 Act).

1.1.3 The 2009 Act also requires the Committee for Climate Change’s Adaptation Committee (ASC) to prepare a report, commissioned by Scottish Ministers within two years of each programme, setting out its independent assessment of progress on the Scottish programme. In the ASC's Independent Assessment in 2016 it recognised SCCAP1 as a positive start in taking steps to prepare for climate change. A further independent assessment will report in March 2019.

1.1.4 The draft programme’s policy context and legislative drivers are illustrated by Figure 2 below.

1.1.5 The draft programme is structured around a vision and seven high-level outcomes which are underpinned by sub-outcomes, policies and proposals.

1.1.6 This outcomes-based approach is derived from both the UN Sustainable Development Goals and Scotland’s National Performance Framework. The draft programme will coordinate the delivery of existing plans, programmes, and strategies across relevant sectors to maximise their impact, capitalise upon synergies, and address any gaps. The programme’s structure and approach is illustrated by the following figure:

Figure 2: The draft programme's policy context

Figure 3: Structure and approach of the draft programme