Our Scotland, Our Future: Public Engagement Strategy for Climate and Nature - EQIA

Key Findings

14. In line with the requirements, the Scottish Government undertook a five-stage process in developing this EQIA:

• Stage 1: Screening and framing
• Stage 2: Gathering evidence and engaging
• Stage 3: Assessing impact and identifying actions.
• Stage 4: Explaining the findings
• Stage 5: Sign off and publishing

Stage 1

15. A framing exercise was carried out by the Scottish Government to consider issues that might arise from the strategy. The framing exercise raised a number of points of consideration:

• The impacts of climate change will affect everyone’s lives, and some population groups more than others;
• There is a need for a just transition to net zero, where all partners (governments, trade unions, businesses, communities, regions, individuals) have a voice in planning the transition to net zero and a role in delivering it;
• Everyone must understand the causes and impacts of climate change and how they relate to their lives; and
• Public engagement is key to ensuring the whole societal effort required for Scotland to reach net zero and become climate resilient and nature positive; and
• The groups most likely to be affected by the strategy are those who currently face barriers to participation in climate and nature engagement, as the PES places strong emphasis on inclusive engagement, participation in decision-making, working through trusted messengers and reaching those who have traditionally been underrepresented in climate and nature discussions.

16. The publication of the PES sets the policy for how people in Scotland are engaged on climate and nature issues and this includes implications for people with protected characteristics through the way in which climate and nature engagement is designed, delivered and targeted. Our Scotland, Our Future is a refresh of the current PES and therefore the policy builds on the previous approach and EQIA. Therefore, it has been determined that a proportionate, light-touch EQIA is appropriate for the Strategy. It is intended that individual policies, programmes and activities delivered under the PES strategic framework, will be included within a Delivery Plan. The Delivery Plan will be informed by the detail in this EQIA to ensure the implementation approach considers the impacts on protected characteristic groups.

Stage 2

17. At Stage 2, the Scottish Government considered evidence about the potential impacts of the Strategy on people with regards to the following protected characteristics:

• Age
• Disability
• Gender reassignment
• Pregnancy and maternity
• Race
• Religion or belief
• Sex
• Sexual orientation

18. As stated above, the Scottish Government consulted with various group throughout the development of the updated strategy, with over 150 external organisations invited to attend workshops on the proposed direction of the strategy and to discuss future delivery planning. Invitees included those representing equality organisations.

19. Alongside this qualitative data, the Scottish Government gathered quantitative data from a range of sources including the Scottish Climate Survey^[5], Scotland’s Census^[6] and various published academic research papers.

20. The evidence review and stakeholder engagement undertaken as part of the EQIA process highlighted a number of important considerations for the development and delivery of this strategy:

• The importance of recognising and responding to the different experiences, perspectives and barriers faced by people with protected characteristics;
• The importance of enabling people from all backgrounds, including those with protected characteristics, to participate meaningfully in discussion and decision-making on climate and nature issues;
• The value of working collaboratively with partners, including equality organisations, throughout the lifetime of the strategy; and
• The need for ongoing consideration of equality impacts as the strategy is implemented. The accompanying Delivery Plan, together with future monitoring and evaluation activity, will provide opportunities to strengthen the evidence base, improve understanding of barriers to participation and ensure that engagement approaches continue to meet the needs of diverse audiences

Stage 3

21. The Scottish Government proceeded to assess the potential impacts of the Strategy and to identify the opportunities to promote equality that it provided. These results are summarised below.

Age

• The assessment identified a positive impact on age in relation to advancing equality of opportunity.
• Evidence suggests that attitudes towards climate change differ across age groups, as does engagement in pro-environmental behaviours, highlighting the importance of tailored and audience-centred approaches. Evidence also shows that the average reading age of adults in Scotland is 9-11 years old, therefore communication must be mindful of this. The strategy recognises that climate change and nature loss will have significant consequences for children and young people in particular and includes a commitment to supporting climate and nature literacy, participation and engagement. The strategy also reflects that ‘Net Zero Nation’ has highlighted the importance for young people to have access to climate education.
• No negative impacts were identified.

Disability

• The assessment identified a positive impact in relation to advancing equality of opportunity.
• Evidence shows that disabled people face a higher risk of poverty and, given that climate change and nature loss are more likely to disproportionately affect those in poverty, building an understanding of climate change and nature loss within the disabled community is incredibly important. The Scottish Government recognises that disabled people may face barriers to participation in climate and nature engagement and promotes inclusive and accessible approaches to engagement. Through its emphasis on accessibility, audience-centred engagement and participation in decision-making, the strategy is expected to help ensure that disabled people are able to access information, contribute their views and participate in climate and nature discussions.
• No negative impacts were identified.

Sex

• The EQIA identified a positive impact in relation to advancing equality of opportunity.
• Evidence suggests that women and men can experience climate impacts, and engage in climate-related issues, in different ways. Data also shows that women and girls often face disproportionality high health risks from the impacts of climate change when compared to men and boys. The strategy's commitment to inclusive and audience-centred engagement is expected to support equal opportunities for participation and ensure that both women's and men's experiences are reflected in climate and nature discussions.
• No negative impacts were identified.

Pregnancy and Maternity

• The EQIA process identified a positive impact in relation to advancing equality of opportunity.
• Evidence suggests that pregnant women and parents of young children may have a particular interest in understanding climate risks and adaptation measures, and may be susceptible to experiencing climate-related anxiety. Not only this, there is also a significant body of evidence that highlights the health risks climate change can pose to pregnant women, infants and young children. The strategy’s focus on supporting informed, constructive and participatory engagement may help address these concerns by promoting understanding, agency and opportunities for involvement.
• No negative impacts were identified.

Gender reassignment

• The evidence gathering process identified a positive impact in relation to advancing equality of opportunity.
• Evidence indicates that transgender people may experience barriers to participation, lower levels of trust in public institution and discrimination. A recent study also argues that LBGTQ+ communities will have more exposure to climate change related disasters, be more susceptible to the adverse impacts of climate change and will have fewer resources to recover from disasters. Through its emphasis on inclusive engagement, trusted messengers and audience-centred approaches, the updated strategy aims to reduce barriers to participation and support the inclusion of all members of Scottish society, including transgender voices, in climate and nature discussion.
• No negative impacts were identified.

Sexual orientation

• The assessment identified a positive impact in relation to advancing equality of opportunity.
• Evidence suggests that LGBTQ+ people continue to experience discrimination and barriers to participation in public life. A report was cited, which found that LGBT people face persistent invisibility and exclusion in global climate policy and planning. By promoting inclusive participation and working with trusted messengers, the strategy is expected to create opportunities for a wider range of voices and experiences to contribute to discussions on climate and nature.
• No negative impacts were identified.

Race

• The EQIA process identified a positive impact in relation to equality of opportunity.
• Evidence gathered highlighted potential barriers to participation for some minority ethnic communities, including language barriers, underrepresentation in engagement processes and wider environmental inequalities. The strategy’s promotion of inclusive engagement, place-based delivery and partnership working is expected to help address these barriers and improve opportunities for participation.
• No negative impacts were identified, although continued monitoring will be important given the limited evidence available on climate engagement across different ethnic groups in Scotland.

Religion or Belief

• The assessment identified a positive impact in relation to equality of opportunity.
• Evidence indicates that faith and belief communities can play an important role in supporting engagement on climate and sustainability issues, although this has only recently begun to be appreciated in interdisciplinary sustainability literature. The strategy’s commitment to working with trusted messenger and community networks, including faith groups, is expected to support participation from people of different faiths and beliefs.
• No negative impacts were identified.

Evidence Gaps

• Evidence gaps were identified during this process across all protected characteristic groups. In particular, there is limited Scotland-specific evidence on climate and nature engagement in relation to disability, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, race and religion or belief. More generally, there is limited evidence on how different groups participate in climate engagement activities and how engagement approaches affect different protected characteristic groups.
• Given the strategic nature of the Public Engagement Strategy, these limitations have been addressed through the adoption of inclusive engagement principles, the commitment to work with trusted messengers and underrepresented communities, and the intention that future programmes, policies and activities delivered under the strategy will undertake further impact assessments where appropriate. Ongoing monitoring and evaluation will also help strengthen the evidence base over the lifetime of the strategy.

Intersectional Impacts

• The Scottish Government recognises that people may identify with more than one protected characteristic and that these characteristics can interact to create additional barriers to participation. For example, disabled people from minority ethnic backgrounds, older people living in rural areas, or LGBTQ+ people experiencing socio-economic disadvantage may face multiple and overlapping challenges in accessing climate and nature engagement opportunities.
• While the strategic nature of the PES limits the extent to which specific intersectional impacts can be identified at this stage, the strategy's emphasis on inclusive, audience-centred and place-based engagement is intended to support participation from a diverse range of communities and experiences. Future delivery activity will provide further opportunities to consider intersectional approaches.

Human Rights Impacts

• The results of the EQIA found that the strategy is supportive of human rights principles, particularly through its focus on participation, access to information and inclusion in decision-making. The strategy aims to create greater opportunities for people and communities to engage with climate and nature issues and contribute to discussions that affect them. By supporting more inclusive engagement and seeking to reach groups that have traditionally been underrepresented, the strategy contributes to a rights-based approach to climate action. No adverse human rights impacts were identified.

Stages 4 and 5

22. Evidence gathered throughout the EQIA process, including stakeholder engagement, discussions with Scottish Government policy teams and a review of relevant evidence and data, has informed the findings and conclusions set out in this assessment. This EQIA records the potential impacts of the strategy on people with protected characteristics, identifies opportunities to advance equality, and sets out actions to mitigate any potential negative impacts. It will be published alongside the Climate Change Public Engagement Strategy.