How can we adapt to climate change?

At the end of April, 74 stakeholders gathered at the Edinburgh Climate Change Institute for the launch of Climate Ready South East Scotland (CRSES), an initiative intended to transform the region’s ability to respond and adapt to the impact of climate change – you can see an online version of the launch here.

A collaborative region-wide risk assessment, CRSES is led by Sniffer and the six participating local authorities, and is delivered as part of the Regional Prosperity Framework, with support from the Capital City Partnership. Currently funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and Scottish Government until the end of March 2025, the project stretches from the Scottish Borders to East Lothian, Midlothian, City of Edinburgh, West Lothian and Fife.

CRSES will explore the impact of climate change across every aspect of the region’s environment, economy and community life, with the coastline obviously a key issue, particularly in terms of biodiversity, flood risk and coastal erosion. Indeed a BBC Scotland news report this month highlighted the extensive damage that the increasing severity of storms is having on the coastline of East Lothian.

“CRSES will help us to prioritise and identify adaptation action for the region to reduce the risks and maximise any opportunities arising from the impacts of climate change such as flooding, rising temperatures and coastal change,” says Cat Payne who, as Senior Climate Resilience Manager at Sniffer, has taken on the role of CRSES project manager.

“Even if we hit Net Zero tomorrow, considerable climate impacts are now inevitable, and we must adapt together. Climate change will impact every community, place, organisation, sector and ecosystem in south-east Scotland, and it’s vital that we work together to increase our collective resilience. For this we need to better understand the risks and opportunities that climate change poses to our region. 26% of Scotland's population lives within this region, but there's also really critical infrastructure, in terms of transport and energy; key assets such as agriculture, forestry and coastal tourism; and of course businesses and communities.”

The launch event explained several ways in which stakeholders are encouraged to get involved in CRSES. In particular, expressions of interest are welcomed from those keen to join the CRSES advisory group, and organisations are being asked to submit formal evidence of the impact of climate change on the region – you can find out more about that here. But as Cat explains later, the project is also reaching out to the wider public, with everyone who lives in the region encouraged to contribute their experiences and concerns.

CRSES will also draw on existing data and expertise. “We're going to be working with Glasgow University and the Dynamic Coast team, which has surveyed coastal change around the entire Scottish coastline, to look at coastal risks,” says Cat. “We’ll also be working with the University of Glasgow to look at risks to man-made shorelines. For instance, which historic industrial sites may be contaminated and what are the risks of that contamination being mobilised should the sea level rise. We're also working with the OpenCLIM partnership to downscale a lot of their modelling for the region so that we can look in depth at the impact on issues including flood risk, crop yields, water availability and health. And then we'll be undertaking an economic risk assessment in terms of what climate hazards might cost the region's economy, as well as any opportunities that might arise from the changes that are projected.

“The final strand, which is really important and will add the colour to the assessment, is that we’re asking communities, community groups and anyone who lives in this region, what their experience has been of extreme weather in recent years, and what impact they are seeing from climate change. We also want to know what their priorities are in terms of adaptation, and increasing the resilience of their region.

“We can do all the top-down science, but we really need to hear from people who maybe feel marginalised or wouldn't normally take the time to respond to a formal government consultation. They may well have important local knowledge about what’s happening – whether it’s local flooding, coastal erosion or the impact of climate change on their health.

“And of course, some communities will be affected more than others. Adaptation is a collective effort, our region is only as resilient as those with least capacity to adapt to the coming changes – we really will sink or swim together and it’s vital that we create shared solutions to increase our resilience, but which also tackle other local priorities whether that be nature restoration, improving health and wellbeing, creating jobs and reducing inequalities.”

Climate Ready South East Scotland
Between now and March 2025, CRSES is committed to carrying out a detailed assessment of the climate risks and opportunities faced by the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region. This assessment will seek to draw on the best available scientific evidence, while working with communities across the region to gather and share their experiences of climate change. The assessment will inform decision-making across the region, laying the foundation for collaborative climate adaptation action.

The ultimate aims of CRSES are as follows:

1. Identify and prioritise the risks and opportunities from climate change to Edinburgh and South East Scotland’s society, economy and environment between now and 2080.

2. Lay the foundation for a transformational approach to climate adaptation and resilience for the city region.

3. Support a Just Transition to a net zero and climate resilient economy, in a way that delivers fairness and tackles inequality and injustice.

Sign up to the project mailing list to be kept up to date .

To find out more about how you can get involved, watch videos of the launch event and read the methodology proposed for the risk assessment please visit www.climatereadyses.org.uk 

Other stories from Issue Three of ForthRight:

“I’m a climate model geek”
Discover what drives Cat Payne of Sniffer

“This is a wake-up call”
In-depth Q&A with Alistair Rennie of Dynamic Coast

Climate change in charts
Key Met Office data

What can we learn from the Clyde?
Lessons from climate adaptability work in Glasgow

How are we doing?
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