Climate change - national adaptation plan 2024 to 2029: consultation

Public Consultation Summary

The final Adaptation Plan will only be effective if it is informed by Scots’ local and lived experience of climate change. During the public consultation period on this draft Adaptation Plan a formal public consultation will be opened on the Scottish Government’s ‘Citizen Space’. Alongside this we will run a series of events tailored to both delivery partners and the general public, to gather a wide range of views on the policy proposals in this draft Adaptation Plan.

In this Public Consultation Summary, you will find details on:

• The proposed structure of the Adaptation Plan.
• General questions on local and lived experience of Climate Change
• Introductions to each of the Plan’s five Outcomes, with policy proposal highlights and public consultation questions.
• Policy proposals to enable cross-cutting action for all five Outcomes.
• A summary of the legal framework and evidence base for Climate Adaptation in Scotland.
• Conclusion and post-consultation next steps

You will find questions in two formats, either open ended questions asking for general opinions or specific questions asking you to share how much you agree with the relevant question.

To respond to these questions please go to the Scottish Government’s Citizen Space here - Scottish Government consultations - Citizen Space – and search for ‘draft Scottish National Adaptation Plan’ or just ‘Adaptation Plan’.

Finally, in addition to this Public Consultation Summary, you will also find Annexes outlining Detailed Policy Proposals for each Outcome (Annex A), Cross-Cutting Policy Proposals (Annex B) and an overview of work to develop an Adaptation Monitoring Framework for Scotland that will be published alongside the final Adaptation Plan (Annex C).

Proposed structure: 5 Outcomes, 22 Objectives. Climate adaptation is a complex picture of risks, opportunities and dependencies between policies. To break down this complexity, the draft Adaptation Plan is structured around five outcomes, setting out the case for adaptation action for:

1. Nature Connects,

2. Communities,

3. Public Services and Infrastructure,

4. Economy, Business and Industry, and

5. International Action.

Each outcome is grounded in a ‘big idea’ for how we want to deliver adaptation action differently in Scotland. For example, the Nature Connects outcome is centred on the view that – for climate adaptation – ensuring connectivity with and within the natural environment is the crucial factor for how communities and the natural environment can build climate resilience.

Big ideas are one thing, but it is action that counts. So, each outcome has its own set of objectives. These objectives define how we will deliver adaptation action. They also provide the structure around which the Adaptation Monitoring Framework is being built. To achieve each objective, we are presenting a series of proposed policies. When taken as a whole, this structure will allow clear, transparent and accountable reporting on adaptation action.

Local and lived experience of climate change

We are all living with climate change – now and in the future. That is why you will see that, alongside shaping the Adaptation Plan around 5 big outcomes, we are also taking a place-based approach to designing and delivering adaptation action. This is because the Scottish Government recognises climate change impacts vary massively depending on where you live. A rural, island community in the Outer Hebrides will experience climate change differently compared to a community on the banks of the Clyde in Glasgow.

Simply put, local and lived experience is a fundamental part of effective adaptation action.

Lived and local experience - public consultation questions:

1. What do you think the current effects of climate change are on people in Scotland?

2. The next Scottish National Adaptation Plan will cover the period of September 2024 to 2029. What effects, if any, do you expect climate change will have on people in Scotland over the next five years?

3. What actions, if any, would you be willing and able to take to adapt to climate change? You may wish to consider the action you could take a) in your community and b) around your home and/or business.

4. What factor(s), if any, would prevent you from taking action to adapt to climate change and become more climate-resilient?

5. What action(s) do you think the Scottish Government should prioritise in order to build greater resilience to the impacts of climate change?