Climate change - draft Scottish National Adaptation Plan 3: consultation

We sought views on the draft Scottish National Adaptation Plan 3 (SNAP3) 2024-29, which sets out out how we intend to support the people of Scotland prepare for and build resilience to the impacts of climate change.

Consultation on the draft Adaption Plan (SNAP3) opened on 31 January 2024 and closed on 24 April 2024.

The consultation asked 32 questions, on a broad range of issues, around:

• Lived and local experiences of climate change;
• The Plan’s 5 outcomes of Nature Connects; Communities; Public Services and Infrastructure; Economy, Business and Industry and International Action;
• Enabling factors, such as monitoring and evaluation and responsible, private investment;
• The possible effects and outcomes of the Adaptation Plan on people, businesses, and communities and how to avoid any unjust negative impacts, to inform our impact assessments. 

A total of 240 responses were received, triple the number from the previous Adaptation Plan. 131 (55%) responses were submitted by individuals and 109 (45%) were submitted by or on behalf of a broad range of organisations.

In response to the consultation respondents:

• Highlighted concern for the adverse economic impacts of climate change, including rising costs and disruptions to key services and supply chains, and the importance of adequate financial support, as well as public and private investment; 
• Expressed concerns around declines in biodiversity and a decreased resilience of natural ecosystems, and supported enhancing green spaces, restoring natural habitats such as forests and peatlands, and improving waterway management;
• Called for strengthening the resilience of infrastructure and public services, including coastal and flood defences, public transport networks, energy systems and public utilities;
• Emphasised collaborative action within and across the public and private sectors, including for the Plan to facilitate multi-stakeholder platforms and partnership networks;
• Highlighted the importance of empowering communities to participate in climate adaptation efforts and of community-based initiatives as important ways to build resilience;
• Raised the importance of raising awareness and increasing education on the impacts of climate change in Scotland; 
• Sought increased integration of health considerations into the Plan to protect and improve the mental and physical wellbeing of communities, especially for populations most vulnerable to climate impacts; 
• To support or incentivise more investment in adaptation action, there was support for the approaches proposed in the draft SNAP3, notably grant funding schemes to help offset risks associated with adaptation investments;
• Most respondents from organisations supported the proposed approach to monitoring and evaluating progress of the Adaptation Plan. Suggestions were raised for additional outcome indicators in the monitoring framework, such as socio-economic measures and added environmental indicators.
• Mixed viewpoints were shared on the Plan’s impacts on children’s rights and Island communities, but respondents hoped the Plan would lead to a safer living environment and improve overall standard of living.

A comprehensive, independent analysis of responses to this consultation was undertaken by Alma Economics and is now published on Gov.Scot. Where permission to publish has been provided, individual and organisational consultation responses are also available to view.

The responses to this consultation have directly informed policy development for the final Adaptation Plan, including but not limited to:

• Integrating an increased focus on action to support coastal communities and progressing commitments to support community-led action in the Plan’s outcome on Communities;
• Maintaining an emphasis on action to protect and enhance nature including nature-based solutions, as a key means of supporting resilience, in the Plan’s outcome on ‘Nature Connects’;
• Committing to expand regional adaptation partnerships and to further guidance and support to help public services and infrastructure operators understand future climate scenarios;
• Increasing educational resources, including the development of children’s version of the final Adaptation Plan to support learning;
• An increased focus on action to manage supply chain vulnerabilities for food and vital goods, mobilise increased responsible private investment, as well progressing proposals for business support in the Plan’s outcome on Economy, Business and Industry;
• Integrating a greater focus on the relationship between climate and health, including mental health and wellbeing, across the Plan;
• Developing a robust approach to monitoring and evaluation, including ideas for effective data sources.

The Scottish Government intends to publish a final Adaptation Plan 2024-29 which in informed by the findings of this consultation, a suite of impact assessments and stakeholder engagement in Autumn 2024.