Scotland's strategy to mitigate climate crisis 'not keeping pace'

Despite the most severe impacts of the climate crisis being felt and seen in developing nations, over the last 30 years average temperatures in Scotland have increased by 0.5C, while winters have become 5 per cent wetter and the sea level around the Scottish coast has risen by up to 3cm each decade.

In March, statutory adviser to the Scottish Government, the Climate Change Committee (CCC), labelled plans to adapt Scotland’s infrastructure to the impacts of the climate crisis as “insufficient”, adding that ports, airports, telecoms, digital and ICT infrastructure “all face substantial climate risks”.

The CCC has stressed that changes to the climate “are now having clear impacts on Scotland’s people and ecosystems”, adding that “further climate change in Scotland over the coming decades is inevitable no matter how rapidly global greenhouse gas emissions are reduced”.

Flooding impacting Scotland’s best quality agriculture land is expected to increase by 26% by the 2050s. More than 800km of railway in Scotland is already exposed to significant surface water flooding risk, with one scenario anticipating this could soar by more than 60% by the end of the century.

Increasing frequency and intensity of heatwaves, caused by global warming, could mean the number of heat-related deaths in Scotland could rise well in excess of 100 a year by 2050.

Now the Scottish Government has admitted that its action has not taken place quickly enough to counter the threat of the emergency. In a progress report, the overall assessment given is that “while progress continues to be made” in rolling out the strategy, “it is also clear that still more needs to be done to build resilience in Scotland as part of our just climate transition”.

The document adds that “the scale and urgency of this challenge” have been made clear by a host of key global climate reports. It says: “All of these reports are pointing to the same conclusion – that action on adaptation is not yet keeping pace with the worsening impacts.”

The progress report insists the Scottish Government believes countries that took part in the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow should act by “doubling adaptation finance by 2025”.

It adds that ministers agree with the “clearly expressed views” from the Climate Change Committee on the “need for a focus on the delivery of climate change adaptation actions and for improved evidence”.

The CCC has told ministers that climate change altering the make-up of pests, pathogens and invasive species “could have significant economic consequences for Scottish agriculture and forestry”, with the industry worth almost £1 billion per year to Scotland’s economy.

The body has also criticised the SNP-Greens Government for “insufficient inclusion of adaption in plans for many key infrastructure sectors”, highlighting ports, airports, telecoms, digital and ICT infrastructure “despite the climate risks the face”. It adds that “the gap in planning for maintaining a weather-resilient energy system increasingly threatens the delivery of the Scottish Government’s ambitious greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets”.

Scottish Conservative shadow net zero secretary Liam Kerr said: “As usual, the SNP’s action on climate change has completely failed to make the impact they promised it would. The SNP have been in charge of tackling climate change for 15 years, but in spite of all their grandstanding on the environment, Scotland is still lagging behind.

“Not only have the SNP missed environmental targets for years, but they have failed to prepare for the immediate effects of climate change in Scotland – as we witnessed with their shambolic response to this year’s severe winter storms.

“The SNP must urgently start delivering some action on their many environmental promises, or risk leaving Scotland unprepared for extreme weather and other impacts of climate change, in the future.”

Scottish Labour environment spokesperson Colin Smyth said: “Time and time again the SNP-Green Government’s abysmal record on the environment is being exposed.After 15 years in government, the SNP have delivered little more than empty rhetoric and missed targets, while the Greens seem to have sacrificed their principles entirely at the altar of their constitutional obsession.”

He added: “The climate emergency is happening now – there isn’t time for this dither and delay. The SNP-Green Government must match their words with action and deliver the jobs-first transition we need.”

Scottish LibDem climate emergency spokesperson, Liam McArthur, said: “The SNP still support the building of a third runway at Heathrow which would be a disaster for our climate.

"The Scottish Greens must be the only Green party in the world to go into government and put a red pen through a third of the rail timetable. Their joint constitutional obsession threatens to utterly consume the precious time left to stop our planet being irreparably damaged."

He added: “With choices like that it’s no wonder Scotland’s climate targets have been missed year after year.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats believe that Scotland needs a green industrial revolution to ramp up the production of clean energy, insulate every home and accelerate the switchover to climate friendly transport.”

The report points to some measures the Scottish Government has put in place to mitigate the impacts of the climate crisis.

Transport Scotland and Forestry and Land Scotland have drawn up a host of plans “aimed at mitigating the impacts of landslides” on the A83 near the Rest And Be Thankful after a number of incidents in quick succession, while other works have been carried out to protect routes.

A wider strategy for managing risks to Scotland’s transport network was updated last year and “includes increased flooding, landslide and wind management”, which the Government says “have relevance to the changing risk landscape under climate change”.

The blueprint sets out directions to operating companies with advice “on managing and mitigating the effects of disruptive events” including climate-related disruption. The Climate Change Committee has evaluated the Scottish Government’s strategy in adapting to the climate crisis and concluded that “progress in delivering adaptation has stalled”.

In a stark report, the adviser added: “Available evidence indicates that across most sectors progress in delivering adaptation has stagnated, despite a limited number of areas where good progress is being made.

“Opportunities to embed adaptation actions across the full range of Government activities are not currently being taken.”

The CCC has told ministers that “monitoring and evaluation of adaptation is urgently needed”.

It added: “There is a critical gap in the provision of effective monitoring and evaluation systems for adaptation in Scotland, meaning that changes in aspects of many climate risks are largely unknown.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Preparing for the impacts of climate change that are already locked in forms a key part of a just transition to net zero and we are making real progress. That includes an extra £150 million for flood risk management and £12m for coastal change adaptation over the course of this Parliament.

"Our new Nature Restoration Fund is a central part of our increased ambition for biodiversity, comprising at least £65m over this parliamentary session, with at least £13.5m annually, and we are continuing to invest £250m over 10 years on peatland restoration.

“However, it is also clear that still more needs to be done to build resilience in the face of worsening climate impacts. This is a global challenge and we are not alone in needing to accelerate progress.”

The spokesperson said that in addition to continuing to deliver the 170 policies and proposals in the current programme, it was developing the next one for publication in 2024 and looking for additional actions we can take to address the highest priority risk areas.”