Dundee Waterfront SuDS

The Adaptation Scotland programme is supporting partners within Tayside (Dundee, Angus and Perth and Kinross) to develop a new regional adaptation partnership to address climate risks at a regional scale.

The Climate Ready Tayside partnership is at a very early stage in its development and are currently undertaking stakeholder engagement activities to involve a wide range of people and organisations across the region in defining a shared vision and priorities for the new partnership.

Over the course of this year, the partnership aims to have a shared vision and approach to collaborative working that will support a business case to secure long term funding and support for adaptation action in Tayside.

Learn more

Explore more about the Climate Ready Tayside partnership on its brand new website! Find opportunities to get involved in locally-led climate adaptation action.

VISIT WEBSITE

Get involved

Join us to hear about work so far on Climate Ready Tayside and have the chance to feedback on our plans. This includes our vision, priority areas for action, governance model and website.

Download pre-event reading

The public sector has a crucial role to play in enabling Scotland to adapt to climate change.

The Public Sector Climate Adaptation Network (PSCAN) was established in June 2019 with major organisations participating including local authorities, infrastructure operators, universities and national public bodies.

The Network is now comprised of over 60 public bodies who work together to benchmark their progress and identify and share learning on climate change adaptation. We host monthly informal discussion sessions for adaptation practitioners to meet, and arrange bi-annual Network events for members.

Member organisations

Public Sector Adaptation Requirements

he public sector is subject to legislative climate change duties that require action to adapt and report progress. As set out in the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009, a “public body must, in exercising its functions, act: in the way best calculated to help deliver any (Scottish statutory adaptation programme).” This means that all public sector organisations must ensure their activities and programming are designed so as to best deliver Scotland’s National Adaptation Plan (SNAP3). Many public sector organisations make use of the Adaptation Capability Framework to work towards these requirements.

All public bodies are required to report annually on compliance with climate change duties established under S44 of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 and in accordance with Schedule 2 of the 2015 Order. Mandatory Public Bodies Climate Change Reporting began in 2015/16, and includes both mitigation and adaptation reporting requirements. Sustainable Scotland Network (SSN) supports public sector organisations to address their climate change duties. SSN and Adaptation Scotland align their work to ensure a comprehensive landscape of support is available for the public sector.

The adaptation finance challenge

There is a significant shortfall between the finance available for adaptation and the amount required – ‘the adaptation finance gap’. These resources aim to support development of the knowledge and skills needed to help to close this gap and successfully finance adaptation projects in Scotland.

Finance for climate adaptation related projects (both when adaptation is a primary and secondary objective) is required. This finance will need to consider climate risks and impacts, as well as adaptation benefits and costs, and must be aligned to the relevant legislation and regulations.

The third UK Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA3), and the Climate Change Committee’s Investment for a Well Adapted UK report, have highlighted the high economic costs of climate change, but also the high economic and societal benefits of adaptation, reporting that investing in such action is extremely effective and efficient.

The Adaptation Scotland programme has worked with industry experts to develop a suite of resources to help build a deeper understanding of the opportunities presented from investing in or financing adaptation action, the common barriers to financing adaptation, and case studies of businesses models that could be replicated to increase the speed, quantity, and scale of adaptation finance in Scotland.

Guide to adaptation finance

The Guide to Adaptation Climate Finance was developed in partnership with a ‘Climate Finance Working Group’, made up of industry experts across Scotland. It introduces adaptation finance, identifies current barriers, and aims to support development of the knowledge and skills needed to successfully finance adaptation projects in Scotland. It is relevant for a wide range of sustainability, finance and project development professionals; anyone assessing financing options for climate adaptation related projects. It explores three use cases: public, blended and place-based adaptation finance.

Insights and opportunities report

This report builds on barriers identified in our Guide to Climate Adaptation Finance, to identify opportunities for stakeholders in Scotland to address those barriers, and unlock finance for scalable, inclusive adaptation. This report is informed by a series of semi-structured interviews with key informants, alongside a review of relevant literature, news stories, and blogs.

The report identifies 12 opportunities for overcoming barriers to financing adaptation and mobilising private finance. These actions cover policy, market development and frameworks, data and information sharing, research, and industry-led action. The report also highlights that much can be learned from the nature finance sector, where there is innovation in market-based approaches to financing action. Opportunities exist to maximise synergies between nature finance and adaptation outcomes, but adaptation responses extend beyond naturebased approaches, so will require their own distinct market development and business models.

Developing adaptation finance business cases

The Developing Adaptation Finance Business Cases resource was commissioned in collaboration with the working group and produced by Paul Watkiss Associates. It examines the opportunities for public, private, blended and third sector finance for three projects that would have traditionally been public grant financed.

• A coastal managed realignment at Inch of Ferryton in the Firth of Forth
• A flood management project in Newcastleton in the Scottish Borders
• A community climate resilience project in Uist in the Outer Hebrides

Adaptation Finance Case Study: Craigleith Retail Park

This case study, produced with Paul Watkiss Associates, explores the financing options support the retrofit of blue-green infrastructure in an urban setting. This project developed a potential business model to finance the work, reducing current and future flood risk (and to an extent, future heat risk) whilst increasing property values, footfall, biodiversity and air quality.

Craigleith retail park in Edinburgh