Climate Change
Nature Networks drive nature’s recovery, but also help mitigate and adapt to Climate Change. Nature-rich spaces store and capture carbon, and deliver important additional services such as flood mitigation, urban cooling and corridors for species movement, helping people and nature to adapt to the climate disruption happening now and in the future. Public bodies, including Local Authorities, have statutory duties for Climate and Biodiversity which they must perform, and regularly report upon. In taking action to help implement Nature Networks public bodies will be enacting these statutory responsibilities simultaneously.
Nature Networks can be delivered under climate – as well as biodiversity related – duties, plans, policies and strategies. The Scottish Government’s National Adaptation Plan (SNAP3) includes actions to ensure that “Nature Connects” across our lands, settlements, coasts and seas, whilst our Climate Change Plan (CCP) recognises the dual role for nature restoration in mitigating climate emissions, as well as helping us adapt to the current and future risks posed by our changing climate. Monitoring and reporting of Climate Actions, including through the Public Bodies Climate Change Duties Reporting, can be used to inform the action taken to deliver Nature Networks, where this contributes to climate adaptation and/or mitigation.
Partnership and collaboration across public, private and community sectors is essential to deliver Nature Networks that help address local and regional climate risks. Planning and delivery can be taken forward through engagement with, and support from:
- Climate Action Hubs – supporting local project design and delivery, enabling place-based community engagement that addresses local priorities.
- Climate Ready Region partnerships – enabling wider local and regional engagement including public bodies and infrastructure organisations, recognising that climate risks don’t stop at regional administration borders.
- Adaptation Scotland – national programme which provides resources for use by local authorities, public bodies and the private sector to increase understanding of climate risks and how best to adapt to those risks. Resources include;
- Climate Adaptation Capability Framework – to help public bodies understand and move through the challenges of climate adaptation;
- Business and sector-specific tools for private sector adaptation;
- Climate-ready Places graphics – help individuals and households visualise how local places and lives will be impacted by the changing climate
- The Community Climate Adaptation Routemap – a practical guide for communities to adapt to climate change;
and at a local level Climate Action Hubs can help support project design and delivery. Monitoring and Reporting of Climate Actions can also be used to inform reporting on delivery of Nature Networks.
Covering Framework Delivery Principles:
- Data, mapping, & monitoring
- Finance & resourcing
- Governance & decision making
- Knowledge & skills
- Monitoring, Evaluation & Reporting
- Participation, engagement, & communication
- Policy & Mainstreaming
- Project Development
- Project Implementation
- Spatial Mapping
- The Scottish National Adaptation Plan (SNAP3) sets out the actions that the Scottish Government will take to prepare for and build Scotland’s resilience to the impacts of climate change between 2024 and 2029. The Adaptation Scotland programme is how the Scottish Government will offer advice and support to the public sector, businesses, communities and households on how to take adaptation action.
- Sets out the actions that the Scottish Government and partners will take to respond to the impacts of climate change. This Adaptation Plan sets out actions from 2024 to 2029. You can also view the accompanying Monitoring and Evaluation Framework.
- Harnessing nature's capacity to adapt can help us to manage climate change impacts and bring additional benefits.
- Scotland’s climate change legislation sets a target date for net zero emissions of all greenhouse gases by 2045. Public sector bodies play a key role in meeting this target and have statutory climate change duties under the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009.
- The Met Office's climate service for Local Authorities in the UK.
- This technical document aims to provide an indication of carbon stores and sequestration (per hectare) for a range of habitats.
- The Adaptation Scotland programme provides advice and support to help Scotland be prepared and resilient to the effects of climate change.
- These six “typical Scottish places” show the threats and opportunities in a specific location, and how local assets and lives will be impacted by a changing climate.
- Climate Ready Regions are partnerships that bring together local authorities, public bodies, businesses, communities and the third sector from across a region to collaborate on shared climate risks and build climate resilient places, communities and economies.
- A new report for the Climate Change Committee maps the complex legal landscape governing how local authorities across the UK adapt to climate change, highlighting both the challenges of governance and the significant powers councils hold to build resilience.
- Empowering local communities through our network of 24 regional Climate Hubs to drive climate resilience, adaptation and net-zero solutions.
- The Framework outlines four key capabilities essential for an organisation’s adaptation journey. It details specific tasks to help develop these capabilities across four progressive stages, from Starting to Mature.
- Explore and learn about co-benefits and co-costs of reaching net zero in the UK.
Help us build a useful toolbox
Share your feedback on existing guidance and resources, as well as links to others you think would be useful. We’d also love to hear about any great Nature Network projects that we should showcase.
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