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CHAPTER 3: WORKING WITH OTHERS
3.1 The role of Government
Climate change is an issue that no government can address alone. Success will depend on organisations, businesses, communities and individuals across Scotland accepting responsibility and preparing for a changing climate now. There are some functions, however, that are most effectively provided by central Government. The Stern Review of the Economics of Climate Change stated that " Governments have a role to play in making adaptation happen, starting now, providing both policy guidelines and economic and institutional support to the private sector and civil society." 18 Box 7 provides greater detail on the key roles for Government as identified in the Stern Review.
Box 7: The Stern Review of the Economics of Climate Change Governments have a role in providing a policy framework to guide effective adaptation by individuals and firms in the medium and longer term. There are four key areas: - High-quality climate information and tools for risk management will help to drive efficient markets.
- Land-use planning and performance standards should encourage both private and public investment in buildings and other long-lived infrastructure to take account of climate change.
- Governments can contribute through long-term polices for climate-sensitive public goods, including natural resources protection, coastal protection, and emergency preparedness.
- A financial safety net may be required for the poorest in society, who are likely to be the most vulnerable to the impacts and least able to afford protection (including insurance).
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Experience in Scotland has shown that strong Government leadership and partnership approach is central to an effective and sustainable approach to climate change adaptation. Governments can encourage and enable adaptation by providing clear information and guidance to encourage individuals and organisations to adapt for a changing climate (for example, see the guiding principles promoted by the Scottish Government for a sustainable approach to climate change adaptation in Box 8). The Scottish Government has an important educational role and is working to develop greater awareness of climate change and better access to high quality information and tools to help decision makers adapt.
Central Government is also strategically placed to provide support for climate change adaptation through co-ordination across both geographic and policy boundaries. The Scottish Government is working to provide such coordination through regulation (for example, National Planning Framework 2), provision of forums to bring together stakeholders (for example, Scottish Land Use Study) and in broader public sector provision of advice and guidance (for example, collaborations between Historic Scotland and SNH). The establishment of the Climate Change Delivery Group within Scottish Government to take forward the mainstreaming of climate change thinking through Government policy will also provide greater coordination between Scottish Government policy development, addressing barriers and conflicts in policy objectives.
The Stern Review raises the serious issue of the influence of climate change on equity and social justice. The Government will continue to consider how social impacts may be most effectively addressed in adaptation measures to ensure existing inequalities do not widen with climate change 19.
Box 8: Principles for a sustainable approach to climate change adaptation Adaptation must be addressed alongside actions to reduce emissions Actions to adapt for a changing climate must also meet ongoing requirements to reduce emissions. Without mitigation, the scale of adaptation challenges will increase significantly. Adaptation should be through actions that build long-term resilience Our changing climate presents both short and long-term challenges. The 'four As' - Awareness + Avoidance + Alleviation + Assistance - are particularly useful in developing resilience to extreme events. However, individual adaptation acts should also consider the benefits of broader resilience provided by supporting strong communities, sustainable economic growth and a healthy environment. Adaptation should be informed by an appropriate cycle of review and action Actions to adapt must account for inherent uncertainty of climate projections through monitoring and reviewing systematically. This improves the knowledge base by identifying those responses which have been successful and allows for the incorporation of new information on risk. Adaptation should be integrated into existing development and implementation practices. Preparing for a changing climate should be integrated into existing risk management and planning processes and decisions, as an extension of good development practice. Adaptation should be integrated at an appropriate scale and involve relevant levels of decision-making. Effect climate change adaptation requires decision-making by many organisations, private companies and individual actors. It must be built into all levels of decision-making and requires a greater joined-up approach to address changes such as geographical shift of species. Adaptation should seek to avoid limiting future adaptation or restrict others from adapting. Decision makers should recognise the often cross-sectoral implications of a changing climate and should seek to consider consequences of their planned adaptation actions on the interests of other individuals and organisations. |
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Smailholm Tower, near Kelso
Source: Historic Scotland | Roof of Smailholm Tower - using soft capping to reduce the impact of rainfall on the structure and prevent damage to stone
Source: Historic Scotland |
3.2 Working across the public sector
Scotland's public agencies have a key contribution to make in helping Scotland build its resilience to a changing climate. Several of Scotland's key public agencies have already published or are close to publishing their own climate change action plans which include commitments to progress-reporting. Where possible, through the provision of leadership and guidance, the Scottish Government will encourage broader public sector risk assessment of the unavoidable impacts of a changing climate and appropriate progress reporting. The Scottish Climate Change Bill also proposes enabling powers to allow Scottish Ministers to impose duties, create statutory guidance, and introduce reporting requirements on the public sector. There are no current plans to use these powers but they would be available if Ministers determined that the public sector response was inadequate to manage the risks posed by climate change. The Scottish Government will continue to work with public sector service providers to help them understand their risk and their role in building a more resilience Scotland.
Box 9: Public agencies working together to adapt to a changing climate Scotland's public agencies have a key contribution to make in helping Scotland build it's resilience to a changing climate. For example: - Scottish Environment Protection Agency ( SEPA) facilitates the development of river basin management plans, one of whose main purposes is to better manage the risks of flooding. It also operates a flood awareness and flood warning system to help minimise the risks to life and property from flood events.
- Forestry Commission Scotland ( FCS) promotes the use of woodland to reduce riverbank erosion, to complement natural flood management, and to help stabilise slopes prone to landslip. It also advises on changes to forestry practices, including choice of tree species, to take account of our changing climate. FCS also promotes the development of more resilient ecosystems in relation to woodland habitats and functional woodland habitat networks.
- Scottish Natural Heritage ( SNH) promotes the development of more resilient ecosystems, with greater connectivity between habitats to allow for species to disperse as the climate changes. SNH encourages greater use of natural processes in reducing flood risks, by creation of river wetlands or making use of natural coastal defences.
- Historic Scotland advises on the management of historic sites and property exposed to risks of river or coastal flooding, erosion and other impacts of climate change. Its research programme provides information on the impact of climate change on the historic environment and helps identify how to adapt to a changing climate.
All four organisations have reviewed the risks arising from climate change to their corporate operations and office property and the need for appropriate adaptation measures or contingency procedures. Each organisation regards climate change as one of the most significant factors affecting the environment and people now and over coming decades; and agrees the need for early action on both emissions reduction and investment in adaptation measures. SEPA, SNH and FCS have each drafted a Climate Change Action Plan, and Historic Scotland is preparing one, with this need for early action in mind. Further information on these action plans can be found at: Historic Scotland: http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/climatechange SEPA: http://sepa.org.uk/climate_change.aspx FCS: http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/infd-7bqlg8 SNH: http://www.snh.org.uk/ |
3.3 Working with local government
Scotland's communities will often be in the front line in responding to the impacts of climate change and local authorities are ideally placed to lead the community response to climate change. In 2007 all 32 Scottish local authorities signed Scotland's Climate Change Declaration20 committing them to action to reduce emissions and adapt to the unavoidable impacts of climate change.
As part of the concordat21 between Scottish Government and COSLA, each local authority will agree a Single Outcome Agreement ( SOA) highlighting their contributions towards national outcomes22. This year the commitments agreed under SOAs will extend to all Community Planning Partnerships, bringing local representation of key public, private, community and voluntary organisations into the agreements. The Government is working with COSLA and the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives ( SOLACE) to ensure that, as SOAs evolve over time, the commitments local authorities have made under the Climate Change Declaration will be reflected in these new agreements. The Government is also supporting COSLA and the Sustainable Scotland Network to develop guidance for a consistent approach for local authorities to integrate climate change adaptation into their services.
Box 10: Developing a regional climate change strategy The Highland Council Corporate Plan contains within it the commitment to ' Produce and implement a climate change strategy for the Highlands which will reduce our impact on the environment and adapt our services to cope with the impact of climate change.' To inform the development of its strategy, the Highland Council participated in a pilot Local Climate Impacts Profile which produced a media trawl highlighting 110 severe weather related incidents occurring in the region over the past seven years. The data gathered was used to initiate discussions about the implications of such events for Council Services. Each Service then identified actions to reduce the impact of such weather events in future. In addition to this work, in June 2008 the Highland Council invited representatives from the private, public and voluntary sector to a Climate Change Conference to explore opportunities for partnership working. Building on the success of the event, a mapping exercise of Highland climate change related initiatives was conducted. Further workshops are planned in partnership with the UHI Millennium Institute to enable knowledge transfer on the issues of climate impacts. The overall aim is to build on the findings from all discussions into an adaptation strategy for the region that will outline the actions needed to build resilience to the effects of climate change. |
3.4 Working with Scotland's business sector
Scotland's changing climate will present many new challenges for its businesses. These may include adapting to the increased risks of transport disruptions, changes in global supply and demand for consumer goods or increased insurance costs for property in the face of more frequent extreme weather events. Climate change also presents many opportunities that may be exploited through proactive adaptation. Climate change may bring opportunities in new tourism markets, agricultural possibilities or design specialisation. While businesses require better information on projected scenarios, research has found that the ability and training of individuals within organisations and the capacity of management structures to implement appropriate adaptation actions is also vital 23. Planned adaptation should become a key part of standard business planning and risk. The Scottish Government will work with sectors to identify the risks and opportunities presented by a changing climate and to develop the adaptive capacity required to address these.
Box 11: Helping Scottish farmers and crofters to adapt to a changing climate  In 2008, the Agricultural Stakeholders Group on Climate Change published Climate Change and Scottish Agriculture. The report looked in detail at the current evidence on the likely impact of climate change on Scottish agriculture in different parts of Scotland and it identified the business decisions that farmers and crofters may need to review, in due course, to adapt to these changes. In the light of this report the Scottish Government is working with the Scottish Agricultural College ( SAC) to develop a publicly funded advisory programme to help farmers and crofters take practical measures to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to climate change. In addition, the Scottish Rural Development programme provides financial assistance both towards business planning and measures which may facilitate adaptation and provide other public benefits such as flood plain management and management of valuable habitats.
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3.5 Working with Scotland's Third sector
The Scottish Government recognises the pivotal role the Third sector has in achieving its aim of building Scotland's resilience to the impacts of climate change. The Third sector is often best placed to connect with individuals that the public sector finds hardest to reach, working with the most vulnerable in our society - those who may struggle the most in the face of extreme weather events or changing climate. The Third sector also provides a valuable public service in helping protect our natural environment and presenting opportunities where the private sector doesn't operate. The Scottish Government will continue to work with the Third sector in pursuing its climate change adaptation objectives.
3.6 Working with our UK and international partners
In taking the adaptation agenda forward, the Government will work openly with a range of partners, including the UK Government and EU Commission as opportunities arise. The UK Government, Welsh Assembly Government and Northern Ireland Assembly are all pursuing climate change adaptation in their respective jurisdictions. However, it is recognised by all that coherence across the Administrations is needed, particularly on cross-border issues. The UK Administrations are committed to working closely together to share best practice and develop cross-border initiatives. To facilitate this, an Adapting to Climate Change UK Group 24 has been established to agree mechanisms for delivering cross-government cooperation on climate change adaptation.
The European Union also has a strategic role to play in addressing climate change. The Scottish Government will continue to feed in to the European debate, both by making direct representations and by making representations to the UK Government. The Scottish Government recognises the success of so many small countries in Europe, and aspires to the independent membership of the EU that they enjoy. Independence would empower us to advance Scottish interests on each and every issue that matters to us.
? QUESTION 6 In Chapter 3, we set out the roles for the public sector, local government, the voluntary and business sectors which, if enacted, we believe will build resilience to a changing climate. 6a If you are responding from an organisation or institution (as you have identified in your Respondent Information Form), please offer your views on the roles set out for the sector which best represents your organisation. 6b If you are responding from an organisation or institution, please offer your views on the roles set out for other sectors you work with. 6c If you are responding as an individual not affiliated to an organisation (as you have identified in your Respondent Information Form), please offer your views on the roles set out for any sectors you interact with. |
? QUESTION 7 Please provide any additional comments you have on any aspect of the consultation |
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