News and updates from Adaptation Scotland

Expanding the Adaptation Learning Exchange 2015

This year’s Adaptation Learning Exchange introductory programme has proved very popular and is now fully subscribed. ALE will help organisations to address common adaptation planning challenges by offering one-to-one support and networking opportunities through collaborative working.

Following the introductory programme, the successful applicants will be able to join the ALE network of adaptation champions. For more information about the programme, please go to our website or contact Sophie@sniffer.org.uk

Join the team: Climate Ready Communities Project Lead

Sniffer is looking for a Climate Ready Communities Project Lead to join the Adaptation Scotland team, based in Edinburgh.

This is a short term appointment to support communities to adapt to the impacts of climate change, and is suitable for a secondment, short term employment contract or consultancy contract.
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Help us improve our service

Adaptation Scotland has been providing support and advice on climate change resilience since 2005. As we start our new programme (2015-18) we would like to know how well we are doing and how we can improve.

Please complete our short survey and help us strengthen climate change adaptation in Scotland. The anonymous survey will only take a few minutes and all responses will help us do a better job!

C ommunications survey

Holyrood committee backs mandatory climate change reporting for public sector

The Scottish Parliament's Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment

Committee (RACCE) has endorsed mandatory climate change emissions reporting for public sector organisations.

The Committee has also recommended that the Scottish Government take a number of steps to assist public bodies in meeting reporting requirements. These include providing clear guidance, support & training, recognising the differences between Scotland's varied public sector organisations, and avoiding a rigid, one-size-fits-all approach.
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39,000 young people take part in Young Scot's Low Carbon Behaviours Rewards Project
Young Scot's Low Carbon Behaviours Rewards Project has supported 39,000 Scottish

young people to engage with issues related to climate change.

The project used the existing Young Scot Rewards platform to encourage young people to make sustainable life choices and take part in community-based climate change projects. Initially funded for two years, the successful project has been extended for a further year.
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Using citizens' juries for climate change action
A unique study led by ClimateXChange concluded that citizens' juries can be an ideal space for agreeing action on climate change. The project held three juries across Scotland looking at the key principles for developing on-shore wind farms.

The study provides a strong case for incorporating further processes of deliberative democracy into Scottish policy making, and gives practical advice on how to run citizens' juries.
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Warming seas pose risk to commercial fish stocks
New research by a team from Bristol and Exeter Universities suggests some of the UK's most popular fish stocks will face habitat changes as a result of rising ocean temperatures.

In the past 40 years the North Sea has warmed four times faster than the global average. Landings of key commercial species - including haddock and plaice - have already declined. Modelling shows fish species distribution is likely to continue to change as temperatures rise.

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Surgewatch: new coastal flood event web-tool launched
Surgewatch, which catalogues UK coastal flooding events stretching back to 1924, aims to create a better understanding of coastal flooding, allowing researchers, engineers and planners to track trends and pinpoint areas of increasing vulnerability.

The new web-tool was developed by a team from the University of Southampton, the National Oceanography Centre and the British Oceanographic Data Centre.
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US Government launches its Climate Resilience Toolkit
The US Government has created an online resource to help people and organisations manage their climate risks. Free and accessible to all, it brings together a risk management framework, climate data, adaptation case studies and training resources.

Following a 5-step structure, similar to Adaptation Scotland's own resilience guidance, the toolkit provides advice on major elements of risk reduction, from identifying problems to taking action.
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Sealevels.info interactive maps illustrate global sea level change
A new web-tool, developed by Scientinel and launched at the European Climate Change Adaptation Conference, aims to help nations prepare for the risk of rising seas.

Sealevels.info uses a range of data to predict the impact of rising seas on coastal areas and is supported by the UN Environment Programme.
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