Creating a Climate Change Risk Register with Aberdeenshire Council

Case Study Complete
Date added: 11/07/2016
Adaptation Scotland supported Aberdeenshire Council in creating their first Climate Change Risk Register.

The Corporate Risk Management team at Aberdeenshire Council has developed a Climate Change Risk Register. The Register forms an integral part of the council’s corporate risk management strategy, ensuring that risks associated with climate change impacts will be considered and acted upon on a regular basis. It currently includes 18 risks. The key risks identified are flooding, disruption to infrastructure due to severe weather event impacts, drought, forest fires and landslides. The risk register is reviewed every six months.

Developing the Risk Register was driven by increased awareness of climate change risks following a Local Climate Impacts Profile project in 2010/11, and the requirements of the Flood Risk Management Act. Aberdeenshire Council recognised the need to have a corporate, cross-service overview of climate change risks and to document the probability and impact of climate change events on its activities. It also understood the need to ensure that climate change risks are visible and managed at a level proportionate to their probability and impact.

Aberdeenshire Council will use the information contained in the Risk Register as a basis for an adaptation strategy or updated version of the Council's existing Climate Change Action Plan.