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Home Scotland and climate change What is adaptation?
  • Adapting to climate change will be necessary regardless of how much we manage to cut our carbon emissions. Even if we were to reach net-zero tomorrow, historic greenhouse gas emissions have already changed our climate and will continue to do so in the decades to come.

     

    This means we need to change how we manage our land and infrastructure, manage water during periods of drought, ensure our buildings are resilient to heatwaves and storms, and communities can build resilience to flooding.

     

    Adaptation is not one thing, and involves us preparing for both extreme weather such as storms, and more gradual changes such as when growing seasons start and end.

     

  • Adaptation looks different in each place. It could be using scarce water resources more efficiently, or making changes to the crops we grow, or the way we manage trees in our forests so that they are less vulnerable to new pests and diseases or to storms or wild fires.

     

    The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) defines adaptation as: “The process of adjustment to actual or expected climate and its effects, in order to moderate harm or exploit beneficial opportunities.”

     

    It is also vital that we understand how climate change differently impacts people and places across Scotland. Adaptation action should be inclusive, and targeted towards addressing the most vulnerable.

Learn more about what adaptation looks like in your place and your sector by exploring the case studies, projects, tools and resources on this website. Listen to the CampusCast podcast episode all about adaptation with the Adaptation Scotland programme manager, Jonny Casey of Verture, providing an introduction to all things adaptation and examples of action in Scotland:

LISTEN HERE


A venn diagram showing examples of climate adaptation and mitigation actions, and those actions which can deliver both at the centre.

Source: Harper Loonsk, Highland Adapts: https://highlandadapts.scot/

Climate Ready Places

What does a climate ready Scotland look like? The Climate Ready Places resource looks at six typical Scottish places, how they are being impacted by climate change and how they might adapt.
Read more
An illustration of a lowland landscape in Scotland

Learn more about adaptation