CLIMATE CHANGE
ADAPTATION
Stirling Council’s Approach
Angela Heaney
SSN Annual Conference
7 November 2013
Interpreting the PBD on Adaptation
• Sustainable Development Strategy, 2006, Objective 1:
“The Council will work to reduce the cause and effects of Climate Change
in line with national targets”
• Simplified the Public Bodies Duties language to “a requirement
to take action on adaptation”
• Developed a Weather Impacts Profile 2000-2010
• Council emissions ca 2% of the area’s; UK emissions ca 2% of
the world’s
• Increasingly likely to overshoot the international target to keep
global average temperature rise at 2ºC or less
Gaining Corporate Management buy-in
• Ongoing – need to tackle on a number of fronts & push at any
open doors
• Inclusion in Corporate Risk Register
• Participation in EU Cities Adapt Project
• Flag up existing work - don’t need to badge as ‘adaptation’
• Emphasise local benefits
Risk based approach
• Failure to discharge Council’s PBD under the Climate Change
Act is 1 of 29 strategic risks in the Corporate Risk Register
• Significant impacts: business/service continuity and financial
risks, plus risk of a legal challenge, from the impacts of a
changing climate
• Internal Control: Development of an Adaptation Strategy
• Treatment Action: Implementing the Strategy Action Plan
• Progress in implementation managed as part of risk
management structure
EU Cities Adapt Project
•
European Commission project to provide
capacity building & assistance for cities to
develop & implement adaptation strategies
•
21 cities placed in 3 geo-climatic sub-groups
•
Signed up September 2012, final Conference
3 June 2013
•
Participation required Councillor engagement
•
Support from web-based tutorials, workshops
and city site visits to learn from each other
through coaching and peer review
•
Draft Adaptation Strategy main output
EU Cities Adapt Project – Site Visits
Augustenborg Eco-Village, Malmo
Scandinavian Green Roof Institute
Draft Strategy
Major incidents in the Stirling Council area, 1992-2012
Since 1992, 17 of the 28 incidents logged were weather-related (61%).
• Established a cross-Service
Project Task Group
Between 1992 and 2001, 3 out of 8 incidents
(38%)
Between 2002 and 2011, 12 out of 18 incidents (67%).
Winter Service Budget Overspent for every one of the last 6 years by an average £675,830/year.
• Collected contributing activity
• Generated relevant data
Different types of urban households at risk of 1 in 200
year flood event
45%
40%
• Emphasise ‘no regret’
measures
40%
Flood Risk
35%
Not at Flood Risk
33%
28%
30%
28%
25%
• Write…consult...re-write…
19%
20%
15%
10%
10%
9%
10%
12%
9%
5%
0%
Affluent
Achievers
Rising
Prosperity
Comfortable
Communities
Financially
Stretched
Urban Adversity
Challenges
• Surprisingly poor understanding of adaptation
• Gaining & maintaining buy-in across the
organisation
• Timescales & need to keep reporting – to the EU
Cities Adapt Project Consortium & Provost’s Panel
• Ensuring immediate line management buy-in
• Resourcing
Next Steps
• Revise, update & finalise draft
• More detailed consultation with Services
• Develop an Action Plan through cross-Service
Working Group
• Aim to put to Committee in June 2014
• Delivery, monitoring & reporting progress
• Engage with Community Planning Partners
• Community involvement
Contact Details
Angela Heaney
Stirling Council, Environment Services,
Endrick House, Kerse Road,
Stirling FK7 7SZ
T: 01786 233030
heaneya@stirling.gov.uk
www.stirling.gov.uk then use A-Z