Climate Ready South East Scotland is a new project to support regional climate action in the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region over the next 18 months. The project is led by Sniffer in partnership with the region’s six local authorities.

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The challenge

The Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region is home to 26% of Scotland’s population and is an important centre of commerce, culture and government. The region’s iconic places, landscapes and heritage are globally significant. However, Edinburgh and South East Scotland's climate is already changing and the impacts of climate change are affecting our people, places, businesses and ecosystems. Even if we achieve net zero the climate change impacts that we have seen already are likely to continue and intensify. Heatwaves, storms, drought, coastal erosion, and flooding are becoming more frequent and severe and will be for decades to come. The impacts of climate change will be increasingly challenging for:

• The safety, wellbeing, and prosperity of our communities.
• The underlying infrastructure that we rely on.
• The regional economy.
• The places and heritage at the heart of our identity.
• The natural systems which support the region’s prosperity and wellbeing.

The project

Climate hazards can occur at all scales and responding to them requires collaboration across legislative boundaries. Climate Ready South East Scotland is a pioneering cross-sector initiative being delivered through the Regional Prosperity Framework (RPF), and collaboration between the region's six local authorities (City of Edinburgh Council, East Lothian Council, Fife Council, Midlothian Council, Scottish Borders Council and West Lothian Council). The project aims to:

• 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.
• Lay the foundation for a transformational approach to climate adaptation and resilience for the city region.
• Support a Just Transition to a net zero and climate resilient economy, in a way that delivers fairness and tackles inequality and injustice.

Climate Ready South East Scotland will provide a detailed assessment of the climate risks and opportunities facing the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region. The assessment will draw on the best available scientific data and evidence and will involve communities across the region in sharing their experiences and stories. The assessment will identify where more action is needed and will provide the evidence needed to inform decision making across the region. Following completion of the risk assessment the project will catalyse a range of local climate resilience and adaptation projects.

Collaboration and transformation

Sniffer is the lead delivery partner for Climate Ready South East Scotland acting as a catalyst to create the enabling environment for transformative adaptation. The project is being delivered in partnership with the region’s six local authorities and managed by Capital City Partnership. The project is funded by the Scottish Government and UK Shared Prosperity Funding.

Developing a shared risk and opportunity assessment is an important opportunity to deepen collaborative working among City Region partners and begin working towards an ambitious and transformative approach to climate change adaptation across the City Region. Producing a joint assessment will enable partners to benefit from economies of scale. Developing a shared evidence base will support a consistent and transparent approach to managing climate risks across. It will enable cross boundary risks to be identified and will support partners to develop shared actions to address these. The risk assessment will also provide evidence to help regional partners ‘climate proof’ other regional projects and investments.

Find out more

To find out more about Climate Ready South East Scotland and to discuss opportunities for collaboration, please contact Cat Payne, or subscribe to the Climate Ready South East Scotland mailing list for the latest news direct to your inbox.

The full project website will be live in spring 2024. 

Project partners

            

 

Project funders