Local Authorities

Everyone living in Scotland uses the services and infrastructure that Scotland’s local authorities provide. From the roads we travel on to the schools our children attend these services are part of our daily lives.

Changes in Scotland’s climate will affect all organisations, businesses and communities and pose a particular challenge for local authorities because of the number and complexity of the services, infrastructure and buildings that they own and operate.

Take a look below to find out:

-      How local authorities might be affected by changes in climate

-      What local authorities are doing to prepare for changes in climate

-      Advice and support available to help local authorities adapt

The threats and opportunities described below are examples of some of the ways that local authorities might be affected by changes in climate

• Increases in autumn and winter rainfall and more days when rainfall is very heavy may mean an increase in the risk of flooding. This would affect local authorities in lots of different ways ranging from needing to respond to an initial emergency and repair damage once the emergency is over, right through to planning and financing flood prevention schemes and supporting people who have been traumatised by a major flood.

• Increased temperatures and the increased likelihood of heat waves may mean that in the future some buildings could become too warm to use or work comfortably in. This could affect lots of buildings including schools, nurseries, offices and community centres.

• Sea level rise may increase the risk of coastal flooding and could cause increased erosion and coastline retreat. This in turn could have many knock on effects such as erosion or flooding of coastal footpaths and roads as well as damage to property and farmland.

• Long term increases in temperature throughout the year may have benefits for local authorities. For example, increases in winter temperatures could reduce the amount of energy used for heating and, warmer summer weather may increase the number of people using sports and recreational facilities.

• By preparing and building resilience to climate change impacts local authorities can help to make sure that their area is seen by potential investors as a safe place to do business.

Local authorities across Scotland are working hard to build capacity and take action in response to the risks and opportunities that they face as a result of changes in climate

In 2007 all 32 Scottish Local Authorities signed up to Scotland’s Climate Change Declaration. The declaration includes 7 key commitments to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and, preparing for the unavoidable changes in climate that will affect us here is Scotland.

Every year local authorities report on the progress that they have made towards achieving the declaration commitments, these reports are published on Scotland’s Climate Change Declaration website. This year for the first time Adaptation Scotland has used the reports completed by local authorities during 2010 to produce a review of all the work that has been done to build capacity and take action to adapt to the impacts of climate change. Download the report at the bottom of this page.

Advice and support is available to help local authorities build capacity and take action to adapt to the impacts of climate change

In June 2011 Adaptation Scotland published the Climate Change Adaptation Workbook. The workbook provides a step by step process that any public sector organisation can use to develop work on climate change adaptation, download the workbook here.

The Adaptation tools section of the website also contains details of other tools and resources, view these here. 

Adaptation Scotland is able to provide one to one support and advice to organisations who would like assistance with the development of work on climate change adaptation. Please contact Anna Beswick, Adaptation Scotland Public Sector Officer to discuss any questions or support needs.