Scottish Climate Change Adaptation Programme: progress report 2023 to 2024

3. Adaptation Scotland’s progress on SCCAP2

The Scottish Government funds the ‘Adaptation Scotland programme’, which is a specific set of activities based on capacity building and advisory services to increase action on climate adaptation by public, private and third sector organisations. It is delivered by the sustainability charity Sniffer, has continued to contribute to the implementation of the seven high-level outcomes in SCCAP2. A new contract for the Adaptation Scotland Programme began in April 2023, and is focused on supporting leadership across public, private, and third sector organisations, while taking a strong place-based approach to collaborative action, in line with an anticipated emphasis on place-based policy making in the new Adaptation Plan (SNAP3).

Key achievements over the year by the Adaptation Scotland Programme have included expansion of the newly-named Public Sector Climate Adaptation Network to over 50 members and continued support to members through monthly learning sessions, targeted support to individual organisations, and in-person events held in Edinburgh. The Programme has also provided strategic input to organisations such as NatureScot to support development of their organisational adaptation plan, and supported development of new adaptation guidance for the tertiary education sector with EAUC, and deepened engagement with Scottish Sustainable Network, participating in the Steering Committee and new adaptation sub-group.

Work with community groups and third sector organisations has expanded considerably, delivering adaptation and collaboration training workshops using the Community Adaptation Routemap tool. This has included strong collaboration with Climate Action Hubs, including providing training to all Regional Climate Action Hub Coordinators with Scottish Communities Climate Action Network, all Climate Action Hub teams, and co-delivery of five place-based community consultation workshops to inform the SNAP3 consultation.

Place-based partnerships for adaptation action were supported across Scotland. This included support to the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal partners to secure political and financial commitments for a major new regional climate risk assessment project of a similar scale to the Climate Ready Clyde initiative; as well as supporting development of an adaptation finance technical assistance fund concept. Work has also begun to support partners in Dundee, Angus, and Perth and Kinross in developing a new regional adaptation partnership, and advice was provided to the Climate Ready Edinburgh initiative to develop its new adaptation strategy and plan. Support from the Programme to the Outer Hebrides Community Planning Partnership has led to identifying and securing external funding for climate resilience work in the Hebrides, including participatory mapping activities to capture lived experience of climate impacts and adaptation priorities.

Focusing on the barriers and enablers of adaptation action, the Programme published new insights reports on financing adaptation action, a case study of public-private investment for urban flood resilience, and perspectives on land use and adaptation, which led to integration of new adaptation content in the Scottish Land Commission’s guidance. The Programme has also contributed to the development of new draft guidance for the climate change policy of National Planning Framework 4 and provided technical input into adaptation focused work conducted by Audit Scotland, Scottish Fiscal Commission, and SEPA, among others.