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

Background

The Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 places a duty on Scottish Ministers and other relevant authorities, including several public authorities, to have regard to island communities in exercising their functions. This duty extends to requiring an Island Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA) to be produced for policies which, in the authority’s opinion, are likely to influence an island community which are significantly different from the effect on other communities (including other island communities).

Due to the distinct nature of climate change impacts on island communities, the Scottish Government has produced an ICIA covering the impact of the refreshed Public Engagement Strategy for Climate and Nature.

The Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 makes it a statutory requirement for the Scottish Government to prepare and publish a public engagement strategy setting out the steps they intend to take to inform people in Scotland about climate change targets and encourage them to contribute to the achievement of those targets.

‘Our Scotland, Our Future’ is the government’s fourth Public Engagement Strategy (PES) on climate change and builds on the approach taken in the 2021 strategy. Our review of the previous PES, ‘Net Zero Nation’ found that the fundamental approach taken in 2021 remains sound. The updated strategy aims to go further and address some of the challenges experienced over the past 5 years – seeking to integrate engagement across climate and nature policy, enable flexibility to adapt to shifting contexts, focus on outcomes with coherent monitoring and evaluation, and improve delivery planning.

Objectives

The refreshed PES sets the approach to national, regional and local engagement with the public in support of climate and nature policy pathways, as set out in the following core strategies:

• Scottish National Adaptation Plan 2024-2029
• Scotland’s Climate Change Plan 2026-2040
• Environment Strategy for Scotland
• Scottish Biodiversity Strategy to 2045
• National Just Transition Planning Framework

The PES will serve to support coherence across engagement activity relating to these strategies, and their future iterations, as well as facilitate better integration of climate and nature in public engagement activities led by other sectors and policy areas (such as Health, Education, Economy, Culture and Sport).

The PES is also a guide for public engagement by public, private, third sector and community organisations to engage their own audiences on climate and nature.

Effective public engagement depends on working with ‘trusted messengers’ – the organisations, networks and community groups that have established, trusted relationships with specific audiences. These include public sector bodies, local authorities, community and voluntary organisations, faith groups, youth organisations, businesses, trade unions, professional bodies and environmental organisations, as well as community leaders and informal networks.

The Public Engagement Strategy is structured around the following vision and three objectives:

Vision: People in Scotland recognise the implications of the twin climate and nature crises, understand Scotland’s response, and know how to take action in the transition to a net zero, climate ready, nature positive Scotland.

• Understanding: People understand the climate and nature crises and how Scotland is responding:
  • The Challenge: People understand the causes and consequences of the twin crises and the need for ambitious action.
  • The Opportunity: People are aware of Scotland’s climate and nature goals and the expected benefits of achieving them – for individuals, communities and the planet.
  • The Pathways: People know the intended pathway to realising Scotland’s climate and nature goals, the roles and responsibilities of different actors and how people can contribute.
  • Individual Agency: Individuals feel confident that they have the knowledge and skills they need to be able to meaningfully contribute to tackling the climate and nature crises
  • Collective Action and Learning: Communities come together to take collective action on climate and nature and learn from each other, in a way that is relevant to them and impactful for their local places.
  • Participation: People have opportunities to participate in the design and delivery of climate and nature policies that affect them
  • Feedback Loops: Decision-makers listen to, acknowledge and respond to people participating in climate and nature engagement
• From an Islands perspective this will include understanding impacts that island communities are often at the forefront of, including rising seas and more frequent storms; how Scotland’s climate and nature goals apply to an island contexts and ensure engagement incorporates a just transition approach so that changes, such as the shift to cleaner energy, address rather than deepen existing inequalities.
• Motivation: People feel motivated to act on the climate and nature crises and know how to do so
  • Positive Inspiration: People are inspired by the positive impacts and personal benefits experienced by other people acting on climate and nature, which makes them want to take action themselves.
  • Individual Agency: Individuals feel confident that they have the knowledge and skills they need to be able to meaningfully contribute to tackling the climate and nature crises
  • Collective Action and Learning: Communities come together to take collective action on climate and nature and learn from each other, in a way that is relevant to them and impactful for their local places.
  • Participation: People have opportunities to participate in the design and delivery of climate and nature policies that affect them
  • Feedback Loops: Decision-makers listen to, acknowledge and respond to people participating in climate and nature engagement
• There has already been very strong examples on activities undertaken on this objective. The Outer Hebrides Climate Hub, funded by the Scottish Government, has brought together 237 member, including community groups, businesses and private individuals to encourage joint and place-based approach to climate action and adaptation.
• Voice: People have their voices heard in debate and decision-making on climate and nature
  • Safe Space for Debate: There is space to have safe, open and honest conversation between different points of view on how to address the climate and nature crises in a fair and inclusive way
  • Participation: People have opportunities to participate in the design and delivery of climate and nature policies that affect them
  • Feedback Loops: Decision-makers listen to, acknowledge and respond to people participating in climate and nature engagement
• Achieving this objective requires an awareness of specific challenges to island voices being clearly heard. Digital connectivity has greatly improved over the past decade, but challenges remain, and some island premises continue to experience slow or unreliable internet connection. Achieving this objective will benefit island communities as it will facilitate a better understanding of the needs and views of island communities.

The impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss will affect everyone in Scotland, although some groups and communities are disproportionately exposed to the risks and impacts. The refreshed PES is therefore expected to affect individuals, communities and organisations across Scotland both directly and indirectly. Directly, it aims to improve access to information, engagement opportunities and participation in climate and nature decision-making. Indirectly, it supports the delivery of wider climate change, adaptation and biodiversity policies.

The PES recognises that engagement activities need to meet the people where they are and focus on the issues that matter to them. This is especially important in Scotland, given the diversity, rich differences and lifestyles across the country, including in its island communities. The PES adopts a place-based engagement approach that emphasises the importance of focusing on places and localities, highlighting the connection between people and where they live, the role of locally framed messaging and how climate and nature engagement can be part of local place planning and action.

The PES also incorporates a trusted messenger-led approach. These trusted messengers are individuals and organisations with existing audiences that are often well placed to integrate climate and nature engagement into their work. This is particularly relevant to island communities. The unique experiences and perspectives of island communities and the specific risk for them associated with climate and nature means that engagement is best led by messengers who share and understand the particular island perspective and the challenges they face.

The actions for delivery of the objectives and aims set out on the PES will be set out in a subsequent delivery plan. This delivery plan will be agile and collaborative to ensure activities and commitments are responsive to shifting social, economic and climate contexts.