Climate change - public engagement strategy: mid-point review

6. Act: Encouraging Action

Strategic Objective

Taking action on climate change is normalised and encouraged in households, communities and places across Scotland

The PES recognises that change often starts at a local level and that there is a critical role for community action to play in achieving our objective of shifting social norms and increasing climate literacy across the population.

To help achieve this strategic objective, the PES committed to continue to champion and fund community-led and trusted messenger-led climate action, and promote a place-based approach to behaviour change.

While much of the activity outlined under the Understand and Participate objectives above will impact on the Act objective, this section largely focuses on the community and place-based work delivered since the publication of the PES. This is because the Community Climate Action Hubs programme specifically has become a key vehicle for delivering climate change public engagement, working with communities across Scotland.

The Climate Action Towns initiative, which ran between 2021 and 2024, and was delivered by Architecture and Design Scotland, provided important learning on place-based climate action. A summary of delivery and learning is outlined at 6.1 below. The Climate Action Hubs programme is discussed at 6.2. The available evidence provides rich learning on the theory and practice of community climate action.

6.1 Climate Action Towns

6.1.1 Background and summary of delivery

The aim of the Climate Action Towns initiative, as outlined in the PES, was to empower and support communities to take action on climate change in a way that takes account of the unique challenges and opportunities each town faces. The project received a total of £721,000 across the 3 years of delivery. Architecture and Design Scotland (ADS) worked with communities and other stakeholders in nine small towns across Scotland to identify the best ways to embed climate actions in those places. The towns were selected using a data-driven approach that took account of such factors as population, level of existing climate action, climate risk, and level of deprivation. The project used creative approaches to deliver workshops and events and bring partners together. There was a focus on developing the conditions and capacity needed to enable community-led place-based climate action.

6.1.2 Summary of outcomes and learning

The Climate Action Towns project highlights the value of place-based working in identifying climate action that reflects differing local circumstances and capacity. Across the 9 towns, climate action was interpreted very widely and strong local interests emerged in diverse aspects including bio-diversity and active travel. Using a local lens to consider climate impacts was felt to be important as these were considered more tangible and of a scale on which people feel they can act.

In relation to working from where people are at, ADS highlighted the value of engaging communities on climate action in the context of their wider priorities, notably the cost of living crisis, which may feel more relevant to people’s daily lives.

Embedding climate action in a Local Place Plan or Community Action Plan was seen as crucial for maximising and sustaining impact. Relatedly, ADS flagged the value of working across sectors to produce greater impacts on climate aims.

From delivering the programme, ADS produced a Toolkit which provides a range of ideas and activities to support place-based community-led climate action. These work through different stages of the process, from “tools for getting started”, which include resources to help with stakeholder mapping and understanding local climate risks, to tools for “making climate action happen”. These tools include advice on how to develop workable plans within the perimeters of local decision making structures to ensure a greater chance of making climate actions happen.

Case Study:

“[ADS] engaged with the community using methods like the Place Standard with a Climate Lens and games that encouraged idea generation. West Lothian Council saw the value of this approach and, as a result, the questions from the Place Standard with a Climate Lens have now been rolled out in Community Action Plan surveys…Working collaboratively with Community Action Blackburn and West Lothian Council, [ADS] supported the inclusion of climate actions in the Blackburn Future Plan and a consideration of adaptation in the Blackburn Place Plan.”

Blackburn, West Lothian: a Climate Action Town

It is clear from the project reports that doing this kind of intensive, ground-up, place-based engagement is impactful but can be challenging and time-consuming. In some areas, the project encountered local ‘gatekeeping’ which proved a barrier to engaging with the local community. ADS learnt that having a presence in the community and taking time to build trust was an important starting point.

ADS also worked to create connections between different parts of a local authority area and community groups. These connections and working relationships were found to be essential to delivering a whole place collaborative approach, and to avoid climate action sitting in a silo.

ADS identified that strong community capacity is critical for delivering climate action in a place. As a result, ADS spent a lot of time on capacity building in order for climate action to be instigated. They noted that, while communities are interested in climate action, many struggle to maintain momentum in the face of different priorities. Where funding is available to support a dedicated resource, they found action to be more consistent.

6.2 Climate Action Hubs

6.2.1 Background & summary of delivery to date

Since the launch of the PES the Scottish Government has supported the development of a network of Climate Action Hubs in communities across Scotland.

To test the hubs concept two “pathfinder” hubs were launched in September 2021: one in the Highlands and Islands, and one in the North East. Since then, the hubs network has grown to 24 hubs covering all local authority areas of Scotland, with the final two approved in October 2024.

The hubs provide a vehicle for communities to come together and engage in collective climate action. The approach and activity in each area is tailored to local circumstances and has evolved as the hubs have developed. This has included delivering public events, training and workshops; providing advice, support, and seed funding to local groups; collaborating with local agencies in policy design; and contributing community views to local and national consultations.

Hubs are local experts with direct connections to thousands of community organisations and cross-sector partners like local authorities, health boards, and education bodies.

While the hubs' primary focus is climate action, encompassing areas like energy, transport, and waste, their work is deeply people- and community-centered. This approach broadens the potential for joint outcomes across sectors such as health, employability, resilience, and tackling inequalities.

With support from Scottish Government officials, the hubs also have opportunities to learn from each other and feed insights and concerns back to Government.

Acting Minister for Climate Action, Dr Alasdair Allan, visited East Lothian Climate Action Hub to learn how they are helping the local community to take action in tackling climate change.

6.2.2 Summary of outcomes & learning

Since the work of each hub is focused on delivering priorities identified locally, and given that the hubs are at varying stages of development, there is currently limited quantitative evidence on the outcomes of the hubs programme as a whole.

The network expanded in 2023-24 with each hub working to its own specific deliverables based on the requirements of their area. In 2023-24:

• 18 of the 20 hubs undertook extensive mapping of existing groups and activity, gaps analysis and in depth engagement with groups to understand local priorities and where they could add the most value
• They delivered over 190 workshops and in depth climate literacy training to more than 3,700 community representatives
• 3 hubs held festivals with over 290 events reaching at least 12,000 people
• Over 590 groups were provided with 1-1 support and advice
• £700k was distributed in seed funding or via community delivery partners to 425 projects covering a range of themes including climate engagement, climate anxiety among young people, community growing, biodiversity, learning and skill sharing, climate and the arts, green health, and the circular economy.
• They built local resources such as on active travel, nature and biodiversity, district heat networks, community energy schemes and flooding.
• The hubs worked to amplify community voices by supporting the development of local place plans and engaging on consultations such as SNAP3, the Heat in Buildings Bill, and Good Food Nation.

Their outputs have helped achieve a range of outcomes closely tied to the strategic objectives of the PES including:

• Improving climate change understanding and engagement to build confidence and capacity
• Increasing community level adaptation and climate mitigation action
• Empowering local communities to influence policy and decision making
• Driving possible future innovations or opportunities

A Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Framework was developed at the end of the 2023/24 financial year and will guide the work of the hubs going forward. The key outcomes are linked to the PES objectives, and data gathered using this framework will inform the end of PES review.

The most detailed learning and insights on the impacts of the hubs to date comes from an independent evaluation of the two pathfinder hubs completed in 2024. The study reviewed data from progress reports and gathered qualitative data from a range of stakeholders. Key evidence from the report is summarised below: -

• Community education: the report concludes that the hubs do extremely well in organising climate events and using innovative methods to engage the public, also noting: “the hubs' educational initiatives and training programmes significantly enhance the community's capacity to understand and tackle climate change, with a special emphasis on developing skills for effective action”
• Influencing policy: the report notes a key role of the hubs in facilitating connections between community voices and decision-making platforms
• Engaging community voices: by organising citizens' assemblies and public meetings, the hubs are “fostering a sense of ownership and active participation in climate action”
• Connecting communities with Scottish Government: the report flags: “Many stakeholders have reported challenges in establishing direct contact with various departments within the Scottish Government, and identified the hubs as crucial intermediaries in this respect, enabling community groups to voice their concerns, proposals, and feedback directly to the government.”
• Community capacity building: the report highlights the effective role of the hub development officers in providing “motivation, direction, and personalised support that catalyses community and organisational activities.. and increased community involvement and enthusiasm for climate initiatives.”
• Seed funding: providing seed funding and facilitating funding applications are also flagged as crucial activities, empowering local organisations to initiate and sustain climate action projects

Crucially in terms of the effectiveness of the hubs as a means of achieving the objectives of the PES, the pathfinder evaluation suggests that the hub approach is a particularly impactful delivery model, noting:

“The strategic development of community networks enhances collaboration and knowledge sharing, amplifying the impact of climate initiatives across diverse groups.”

Significantly, the report also highlights the hubs’ ability to work creatively and innovatively, and to achieve considerable impacts with limited resources.

The evaluation indicates that the hubs have achieved significant impacts to date and are clearly helping deliver across all of the strategic objectives of the PES, most notably on ‘Act’. The evaluation makes some key recommendations for the climate hubs which have been built into the programme as it has expanded: to reach out to non-traditional audiences; to seek additional funding and support to scale up successful initiatives and to increase support for place-based resilience planning; and to improve regional collaboration by strengthening relationships with local authorities and key partners. Some key risks are also identified, in particular the short-term funding environment which ultimately limits what the hubs can achieve. This was noted as leading to a high-turnover of staff and risking a loss of momentum in what the hubs are delivering.

6.3 ACT: Reflections and Implications

Through the delivery of the Climate Action Towns programme, and principally the development of a national network of Climate Action Hubs, Scottish Government has delivered against the commitment outlined in the PES to continue to invest in community-led activities and place-based working in order to encourage and normalise climate action at a local level.

It is clear from the evidence outlined above that much has been learnt about the benefits of supporting community-level climate action which confirms and builds upon the evidence base of the PES. This approach to delivering on the ‘Act’ objective of the PES makes issues relatable, providing a sense of local ownership over climate action. The importance of working through established local networks or embedded organisations to galvinise action was emphasised in the Climate Action Towns learning, an approach which the Hubs model puts into practice.

There is also much learning from what has been delivered in this period on the challenges of working at a community level. Enabling meaningful community-led action is long-term and intensive, requiring significant support to build capacity in some areas to ensure equitable coverage.

Evidence from the stakeholder survey, focus groups for the public engagement evidence review, as well as the People’s Panel report, all indicate that investment in local action is popular and people would like to see more funding and support for work at this level. The short-term funding environment was flagged as a challenge by the Hubs Pathfinder evaluation, and this is reiterated by the People’s Panel report and stakeholder survey respondents. The People's Panel specifically call for “longer-term funding in a timely fashion to help the expansion and increase of climate hubs. This should guarantee secure funding to adequately resource climate hubs – with a minimum of 3-5 years”.

To increase impact on the Act objective, for the remainder of the PES implementation period it will be important to consider how to maximise the sharing of learning and stories of success and inspiration between the Hubs and beyond.