The second round of the Scottish Climate Change Adaptation Programme has been launched to prepare the country for the growing impacts of climate change.
Scottish climate change adaptation is a key requirement of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009; and the five-year programme, spanning 2019 to 2024, is aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. The programme lays out more than 170 policies and recommended actions to protect Scotland’s population, infrastructure and natural environment from the effects of climate change, including flooding, coastal erosion and extreme weather events.
Climate Change Secretary Roseanna Cunningham said: “Scotland is a world leader in climate change mitigation. Our emissions have almost halved since 1990 and our contribution to climate change will end completely within a generation; but even if global emissions were to stop today, extreme weather and sea level rises would still continue to worsen for decades to come. We must expect and plan for threats to food and water supplies, health, biodiversity, transport, businesses, public services and Scotland’s iconic historic environment. Our adaptation work is internationally recognised and we have made strong progress over the past decade, working collaboratively with public bodies, local authorities and communities to mitigate, adapt and increase our resilience to climate change.
“This new, statutory programme builds stronger links between our mitigation and adaptation work and focuses on tangible outcomes, helping to deliver wider objectives for our society and economy. In line with our response to the global climate emergency, it will deliver a step change in securing the benefits of a climate-ready, resilient Scotland for current and future generations.”
Francesca Osowska, Chief Executive of Scottish Natural Heritage said: “We welcome today’s launch of the second Scottish Climate Change Adaption Programme, which sets out a clear plan to keep our communities, businesses and assets resilient and adaptive for the future in the face of climate change…[t]here is still time to tackle climate change, but it will require an unprecedented effort from all sectors of society. We know we have a big task before us but working with our partners we are ready to deliver the transformational change needed to bring a nature rich future for Scotland, part of the urgently needed solution to climate change.”
