Scottish Government biodiversity duty report 2021-2023

7. Directorate For Energy And Climate Change

The Directorate for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) works to deliver a low carbon society, with sustainable, resilient economic growth and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. The Directorate is responsible for:

• delivering Scotland's climate change, clean energy and energy efficiency programmes internationally
• helping Scotland become a prosperous low carbon economy, with secure, affordable and sustainable energy
• the water industry, drinking water quality and consumer issues.

7.1 Actions to protect and enhance biodiversity

Water

The Scottish Government plays an active role in maintaining and improving the quality of all fresh and marine waters in Scotland, and in ensuring that our water resources are managed and supplied responsibly. We work closely with partners to ensure that environmental protection is balanced with the interests and safety of industry and consumers.

Scotland's public drinking water and wastewater services are provided by Scottish Water, a public company accountable to Scottish Ministers and the Scottish Parliament. Scottish Ministers are responsible for setting the investment objectives for the water industry. One of the directions placed on Scottish Water is to support the achievement of the Scottish Government's targets for the proportion of natural features in favourable condition. Scottish Water is required to work with Scottish Natural Heritage (now NatureScot) to identify and undertake management activities at identified sites that will contribute to achievement of the national indicator 'Improve the condition of protected nature sites'. Scottish Water support Scotland's biodiversity strategy by managing landholdings across Scotland, primarily to protect rivers and reservoirs that supply drinking water in Drinking Water Protected Areas (DWPA), and working with landowners and tenants to protect healthy ecosystems and maintain landscape value.

Scottish Water's 25-year strategic plan – Our Future Together – was published in February 2020 and outlines the impact of the changing climate and how the organisation will reduce emissions to become net zero by 2040 including peatland restoration work that not only helps lock up carbon but has additional benefits for improved biodiversity. Its Net Zero Routemap gives further examples of natural solutions being applied across land owned by Scottish Water to improve biodiversity and the target of a net gain in biodiversity by 2030. Further information on actions undertaken by Scottish Water to support and promote biodiversity is detailed in its 2023 biodiversity report.

7.2 Mainstreaming biodiversity

Climate Change

Scotland’s natural capital is one of our greatest assets and is central to our future net zero economy, developing thriving rural economies based around woodland creation, peatland restoration and biodiversity as well as sustainable tourism, food and drink and energy.

As the Directorate leading the coordination of both climate mitigation and adaptation policies, it is recognised that our efforts to address the risks posed by climate change, and to ensure a just transition, must have nature at their centre. This is not only because climate change is degrading our natural environment, which must be protected and restored in its own right, and also for its value as natural capital. But also because nature is one of the best tools we have to adapt to the changing climate and to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

We cannot address one without the other. Nature has a place throughout Scotland, from our rural and island communities to our towns, cities, villages and built environment. It also goes beyond terrestrial biodiversity. Our marine environment is harshly impacted by climate change and healthy coasts and seas are essential for responding to the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss.

Changing rainfall patterns, water scarcity, flooding, ocean warming and acidification, extreme heat and wildfire are all impacting the rate and extent of terrestrial, freshwater and marine species losses across Scotland. The negative consequences on native species, from a greater number of pests, pathogens and Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS) are already thought to be increasing. Some habitats and species are directly affected, but it is the interconnected nature of our ecosystems which means that climate impacts can cascade across landscapes and affect lives and livelihoods at scale.

Over the reporting period biodiversity policy interests have been embedded in the Climate Change Plan update, second Scottish Climate Change Adaptation Programme, preparations for development of the third Scottish National Adaptation Plan and ongoing Just Transition planning.

7.3 Nature-based solutions, climate change and biodiversity

Development of the Climate Change Plan update, and towards launching consultation on the draft third Scottish National Adaptation Plan in early 2024, all recognised the ‘twin crises’ facing us that includes the loss of biodiversity and the need to take action. This has been actively reflected in the key groups and Scottish Government’s internal governance around delivering the Climate Change Programme, including the Director-level Global Climate Emergency Programme Board that meets monthly to provide delivery oversight of the Climate Change Programme.

Close policy coordination with other Directorates working leading delivery across the climate change and biodiversity policy landscape, including Agriculture and Rural Economy and Environment and Forestry has delivered closely coordinated policy across the number of areas, including development of the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy and supporting our climate change targets in developing the next Climate Change Plan, and its interaction with the sector Just Transition Plan on Agriculture and Land Use Change.

The significant role that biodiversity needs to take in addressing our risks on Adaptation, as set out by the Climate Change Committee in their 2022 and 2023 assessments of Scotland’s climate adaptation delivery and as reflected in development of the third Scottish National Adaptation Plan.

Active coordination was undertaken during the report period with natural capital finance colleagues on the role of private sector capital in supporting transition in land use that not only addresses reducing carbon emissions, but supporting wider biodiversity measures.

7.4 Public engagement and workforce development

DECC funds the ‘Adaptation Scotland programme’, which is a specific set of activities based on capacity building and advisory services to increase action on climate adaptation by public, private and third sector organisations.

During the reporting period, the programme contribute to the implementation of the seven high-level outcomes in the second Scottish Climate Change Adaptation Programme 2019-2024 (SCCAP2), including against outcomes ensuring the natural environment is valued, enjoyed, protected and enhanced, with increased resilience to climate change.

In April 2023, the Adaptation Scotland Programme was re-focused to support leadership across public, private, and third sector organisations, while taking a stronger place-based approach to collaborative action, in line with an anticipated emphasis on place-based policy making in the third Adaptation Plan, towards which policy development began in 2022 in response to publication of the third UK Climate Change Risk Assessment.

Key achievements over 2023 by the Adaptation Scotland Programme included expansion of the Public Sector Climate Adaptation Network to over 50 members and continued support to members through monthly capacity building sessions to public body officers. During the reporting period the Adaptation Scotland Programme also provided strategic input to organisations such as NatureScot to support development of their organisational adaptation plan, and supported development of new adaptation guidance for the tertiary education sector, and contributing climate resilience expertise to Scotland’s Sustainable Network’s adaptation sub-group.

7.5 Research and monitoring

Through this review period, as the Directorate leading coordination of the Climate Change Programme, DECC officials have collaborated closely with the Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services (RESAS) Division to ensure climate change mitigation and adaptation aspects of our policy interventions in land and agriculture are informed by the best available research. This collaboration has helped informed RESAS’s ‘Strategic Research Programme’ which allocates nearly £50 million in funding each year for rural and environmental research. The programme is funded on a five-year rolling basis to ensure that Scotland maintains its position at the very cutting edge of advances in agriculture, natural resources and the environment.