Climate Change - Net Zero Nation: draft public engagement strategy - consultation

Theme 3: Encouraging Action

Public concern about climate change and the environment has steadily risen over the past decade. In 2019, concern rose to new levels following increased media coverage of the need for urgent international action in light of the IPCC's special report on 1.5°C global warming.

The transformation required to reach net zero is fundamentally a social one. The CCC calculate that over 60% of changes required to reach net zero will be, at least in part, behavioural or societal. Whilst we have seen concern and public attitudes increasing over recent years, we have not seen the same changes in individual behaviours.

To make these changes and mainstream low carbon lifestyles, we will need to create the necessary conditions for action to be taken. This will include 'material' changes including legislation and infrastructure, many of which are included within the Climate Change Plan Update, but crucially will also require shifting of social norms and increased 'climate literacy' across the population. Increasing our 'climate literacy' will ensure people know why they are being asked to change certain behaviours. Generating positive social norms will provide a facilitating environment for change.

Change often starts at a local level where the people and places we interact with are critical factors in how we live our lives. Community action can also be a major factor in bringing about positive change with wide-ranging co-benefits.

We are therefore committed to ensuring that:

3. Taking action on climate change is normalised and encouraged in communities and places across Scotland

To achieve this strategic objective, we will need to engage with all corners of society, using trusted messengers to reach different audiences in new and innovative ways. We also need to draw more attention to the need for climate change adaptation, building public understanding of climate risks in an increasingly changing Scotland and world. 

The Scottish Climate Change Adaptation Programme^[20] is working towards a resilient Scotland where the public is engaged and communities are empowered. Empowered communities are able to take forward their understanding of how climate change will affect their community, and take action to improve local resilience. When combined, engaged and empowered communities support people in Scotland to be adaptable to the changing climate.

We will therefore support this objective through a range of initiatives:

Supporting Community Climate Action

Communities will play – and already are playing – a fundamental role in Scotland's response to the global climate emergency. Since 2008, the Scottish Government's Climate Challenge Fund (CCF) has made over 1,000 awards, valued at over £100 million, to communities across Scotland. This funding has enabled some communities to take direct action on climate change but many projects have focused on engaging with communities on climate change, and improving climate literacy. The effect of these projects has not always been easily captured in terms of carbon emissions but they have reflected that communities are well placed to promote behaviour change amongst community members and change social norms.

Building on a review of the CCF in Spring 2019, we will work with those involved in community climate action to launch a network of regional hubs to ensure that community engagement is co-ordinated and that different approaches can be adopted in different areas depending on local circumstances and priorities. Our Climate Action Towns initiative will empower and support communities to take action on climate change in a way that takes account of the unique challenges and opportunities each town and region face.

We will continue to develop our approach to community climate action to ensure communities are at the forefront of our green recovery and just transition to net zero.

Supporting Key Messengers

We are aware that the best communicators of climate change are often those who are relevant to, and trusted by, their audiences. We will continue to work with, and support, a range of networks which encourage climate change engagement and which motivate individuals and communities to take action. 

Findings from the Scottish Household Survey show there is a growing disparity between different sectors of society with regards to climate change awareness and concern^[21]. It is important that we raise public awareness within all groups, particularly those currently less engaged on the topic.

We will work with new networks and messengers within these communities to help communicate relevant messages to these groups. 

Supporting Climate Change Education

In schools, climate change is addressed through the cross-cutting curriculum theme of Learning for Sustainability. Learning for Sustainability encourages young people and their educators to consider issues of global sustainablity and in doing so it can provide the skills to address climate change. Young people can learn about greenhouse gases in the sciences, assess the effect on the natural landscape in geography, calculate carbon emissions in maths, and monitor climate change over time in history.

In acknowledgement of the importance of climate education, we are committed to implementing our Learning for Sustainability action plan. The plan aims to ensure that all young people can experience Learning for Sustainability.
It focuses action around:

• curriculum and assessment delivery;
• supporting the skills and confidence of educators;
• securing leadership buy-in;
• adapting the learning estate; and
• developing a strategic approach to delivery.

Furthermore, our continued funding of the Eco-Schools Scotland Programme and the Climate Ready Classrooms initiaitve helps to ensure that schools consider their environmental impact and that teachers have the skills and confidence to cover this vital area of education. 

We will continue to support learners and practitioners to access the right skills and knowledge to learn about climate change.

Marketing Campaigns

Marketing and communications activity can highlight the relevance of climate change to people in Scotland and encourage action. Whilst climate change is largely embedded in the public consciousness, new and compelling narratives are required to create a sense of urgency, agency, and buy-in for the changes ahead. Building climate change narratives that resonate with a diverse range of values and concerns is critical for the long-term goal of deepening public engagement. 

We will launch a national marketing campaign to inform people about the climate emergency and help them understand the need for action. 

We also need to inform people about the necessary changes to behaviour. Normalising the desired actions over time will help increase uptake. It's vital that people see their individual actions within the context of the bigger picture: if individuals feel they're tackling this alone, it's easy to lose heart. Showcasing the work done by organisations across Scotland to address climate change will help to build belief in the importance of individual action in support. 

In the lead up to COP26, we recognise the opportunity to keep climate change on the agenda as a pressing global problem and to showcase the progress Scotland has already made when it comes to tackling climate change while also reinforcing the message that significant work is still to be done. 

We will use channels, including our website, to ensure that we present a positive vision of a net zero Scotland.

Culture and Heritage

Culture and heritage are integral to people's ways of life. By connecting us to our environment and contributing to our sense of belonging, they offer real potential to help deliver the cultural and societal change that will be required to support our transition to net zero and adapt to our changing climate. 

Culture and heritage projects are often place-based, presenting a unique opportunity to engage directly with communities across Scotland. Heritage can develop our understanding of how society and our environments have transformed themselves in the past, building our faith in what might be possible in the future. 

The arts, including screen and broadcasting, are a significant communication tool, with the power to help the public to understand and visualise the potential impacts of climate change, challenge our beliefs, and shift ways of seeing and thinking. 

Historic Environment Scotland's Climate Action Plan 2020-2025 sets out how it intends to work towards making our Scotland's historical environment more prepared for and resilient to changes in our climate. It details the organisation's commitment to engaging the public through the historic environment and mainstreaming adaptation and resilience throughout its operations.

We will work with the culture and heritage sectors to explore the potential of the arts and heritage to deliver culture change and support pilot projects which raise awareness of climate change, its impacts, and the need for action.

Connecting with Nature

Biodiversity and climate change are inextricably linked. Nature-based solutions to mitigating climate change are integral to achieving net zero. They also provide a nature-rich future which is vital for ensuring we adapt to the climate change already locked in. 

People's connection with nature is also central to tackling biodiversity loss and the climate emergency through the use of nature-based solutions. During lockdown and COVID-19 restrictions, many people spent more time outdoors, enjoying the benefits from engaging with nature, physically and mentally. NatureScot's Make Space for Nature Campaign aims to build on the connections people have made with nature during lockdown, driving behavioural change. 

Done well, nature-based solutions are place-based, presenting an opportunity to engage directly with communities across Scotland. Our natural environment can both demonstrate the impacts of climate change, while also offering an opportunity to demonstrate how nature can be part of the solution. 

NatureScot's climate change commitments sets out how Scotland will address climate change challenges through how we manage our land and sea, and how NatureScot will support communities to mitigate and adapt to climate change while mainstreaming its own climate change actions to improve resilience and reach net zero. 

We will continue to work alongside NatureScot to encourage people and communities to engage with nature and ensure links are made to climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Promoting a place-based approach

Given how connected people are to the places they live in there is a role for locally framed messages related to climate change. When people recognise that the global issue of climate change has local implications, they are likely to become more averse to the risks of climate change and more mobilised to act. 

We will support recognition of this by working with messengers to deliver relevant messages which embed the 'think global, act local' concept. 

As well as the National Planning Framework 4, new regional spatial strategies and local development plans provide an opportunity to set out a long term place-based vision for delivering development and infrastructure that responds to the challenges of climate change at all scales. Established tools such as the Place Standard and emerging local place plans will provide communities with the scope to set out how they see their places develop and improve in the future. 

The emerging 20 minute neighbourhood concept^[22] will help to frame discussions about change and development with climate change in mind and we are exploring this further. 

We will continue to embed the Place Principle with partners. 

This principle underlines a commitment to work with local communities to improve the lives of people, support inclusive and sustainable economic growth and create more successful places. By engaging people and communities in the reimagining of our places we can connect people to the many tangible co-benefits of taking ambitious action to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

Consultation Questions: Encouraging Action

9) What are your views on our approach to encouraging action?

10) Are you aware of any practical examples or case studies of good practice for encouraging climate change action that could be useful for informing our approach?