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

5 Monitoring

5.1 Introduction

5.1.1 Section 19 of the Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 requires the responsible authority to monitor significant environmental effects of the implementation of the PPS. This should be done in a way to enable them to take appropriate remedial action.

5.1.2 A wide range of existing programmes are in place at the national and local level to report on environmental status and assess performance against established environmental indicators. For example, Scottish State of the Environment Reports are produced every three years^[45].

5.1.3 Further, given that the programme itself seeks to coordinate the delivery of existing plans, programmes and strategies across various sectors monitoring of these existing plans, programmes and strategies is also relevant. The Climate Change Plan, for example, includes a monitoring framework that includes output and implementation indicators across a range of environmental topics.

5.1.4 Requirements for monitoring the programme are set out in the 2009 Act. This requires an annual report on progress towards implementing the objectives, proposals and policies set out in the programme. The Act also establishes the requirement to independently assess the Scottish Government’s progress towards implementing the objectives, proposals and policies set out in the programme.

5.1.5 The 2008 Act includes provision that a UK CCRA must take place every five years. An adaptation programme is required to address impacts and opportunities identified in progressive CCRA’s and hence this adaptation programme will be reviewed on a five year basis. This will identify changes in the evidence base for the impacts of climate change to be reflected in future adaptation programmes.

5.1.6 In its recommendations in the 2016 assessment of progress on climate change adaptation in Scotland, the Adaptation Committee of the UK Committee on Climate Change (ASC) said that the Scottish Government, in preparing the second adaptation programme, should ‘introduce an effective monitoring regime to allow impact of actions and delivery of each objective to be properly assessed’. The UK’s CCRA also identified that there is ‘no routine collection of data and other evidence to assess whether policies are successful in achieving their objectives’.

5.1.7 Establishing a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation framework for the Adaptation programme is vital to ensure the effectiveness of Scotland’s efforts to adapt to the impacts of climate change, identify whether resilience is increasing (and opportunities are being realised), and ensuring that reporting on progress and implementation is evidentially supported.

5.1.8 The first Scottish Adaptation programme established a framework of over 100 indicators to assist monitoring and evaluation and independent assessment. The intention is to establish a comprehensive new framework for the second programme which will specifically support the outcomes-based approach. This new framework for monitoring and reviewing the Adaptation programme provides a mechanism for assessing progress and identifying any additional impacts. It is therefore proposed that the monitoring for the SEA is an integral part of the monitoring for the Adaptation programme. A full explanation of the approach to monitoring and evaluation is included in an Annex to the consultation paper.