Scottish Government at COP26: What was achieved?

Engaging the Scottish public

It is clear that Scotland’s aim to reach net zero will require some level of change in the way Scottish society operates - and that public support is crucial in order to successfully achieve this. It is therefore vital that everyone in Scotland understands the nature and scale of the climate emergency, and has the opportunity to participate and shape decisions about the national approach to tackle it.

The Scottish Government wanted to use the unique opportunity of a Glasgow-based COP to raise awareness of climate change and biodiveristy issues amongst the Scottish public and prompt, motivate and inspire behaviour change at an individual, household, business and organisational level. Activity focussed on Scottish children and young people, and Scottish businesses, as well as wider society.

Objectives

5 Stimulate greater understanding and action from the Scottish public

6 Empower Scottish children and young people to get involved in COP26 and climate action generally

Engaging children and young people (Objectives 5, 6)

Key activity to engage and empower children, and provide them with the opportunities, knowledge, skills and networks needed to engage with climate and environmental action in the future, included:

• Funding YoungScot, Youthlink and Keep Scotland Beautiful to deliver their Scottish Youth Climate Programme, including the Local Champions programme which has recruited 300 young local climate champions across Scotland, supported by a nominated youth worker in each locality.
• Providing funding for Glasgow Science Centre’s ‘Our World, Our Impact’ flagship climate change learning-focused programme.
• Running the Greener Transport Future Schools Competition to raise awareness of the 20% Reduction in Car Kilometres Routemap, promote active travel, and increase youth engagement and awareness of more sustainable transport options. The competition received over 300 entries from across Scotland.
• Engaging schools, local authorities and education settings ahead of COP26 through Learning for Sustainability and climate education. This included a Teach the Future project and the Learning for Sustainability Awards, and an education focused COP26 Partners Forum.
• Engaging young people across Edinburgh on aspects of marine climate change in interactive science sessions and a tour of the Marine Scotland vessel Jura.

Engaging Scottish businesses (Objective 5)

Scottish Enterprise undertook wide scale promotional work and company engagement to encourage businesses to participate at COP26, and engage with the opportunities stemming from the transition to net zero, and the United Nations Race to Zero campaign (with 253 Scotland-based companies signed up by the start of COP). Key activity designed to galvanise Scottish business, included:

• Scottish Enterprise developing a Net Zero Accelerator Tool to identify businesses’ net-zero carbon journey, areas of high performance & opportunities and 6 Net Zero guides developed to help businesses develop a carbon reduction strategy and support their Journey to Net Zero.
• Co-organising a Scotland focussed event, with the UK Government, entitled Your Business Journey to Net Zero where a range of Scottish businesses presented their own journeys to net zero and provided guidance and advice to small businesses who want to play their part in climate change.
• Funding the Business Support Partnership campaign, developed by enterprise agencies, to encourage businesses to take advantage of the sustainability support available and to highlight to the wide range of opportunities that are emerging in the race to net zero.
• Running an Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan Launch Event which invited 30 young professionals, drawn from all areas of the energy sector, to participate in interactive workshops and problem solving activities regarding the development of energy systems and how a just transition could be delivered.
• Co-hosting a seminar Whole Systems Approach: New Collaborations for Net Zero Emissions Transport in partnership with the Transport Decarbonisation Alliance, providing a platform for Scottish companies to engage with international businesses and organisations on the integration of green energy and sustainable mobility.

Engaging wider society (Objective 5)

Key activity to engage the Scottish public generally, included:

• Running an expanded Climate Week with a programme of events and initiatives across the country, alongside direct marketing and communications, to engage businesses, organisations and communities on Scotland’s response to the global climate emergency ahead of COP26. The week included 11 ministerial visits, across 8 different portfolios, showcasing the cross-government nature of climate action.
• Developing and launching an online Climate Conversations resource pack which enables people, communities and organisations to hold their own conversations and events on the climate emergency. This is a long-term online resource on NetZeroNation.scot which had 300 users from November to December 2021.
• Funding a series of projects to bring communities together on climate action, including the Scotland’s Climate Festivals initiative which is led by Keep Scotland Beautiful. The first national festival event explored the impact of and opportunities from COP26, followed by monthly events running until March 2022 covering a range of climate issues. Keep Scotland Beautiful will also support communities across the country to plan and deliver their own local climate festivals.
• Funding a series of pop-up Climate Cafes which sought to engage people from a range of backgrounds, who may have been less likely to access mainstream COP26 events. The cafes each had a theme, including a number focused on promoting a just transition to net zero. In total there were 39 Climate Cafés and connected events across COP26, delivered by Climate Café in partnership with Climate Reality and a range of other organisations.
• Supporting the first live recording of the 'Local Zero Live' podcast to explore how local action can help to deliver a Just Transition in Scotland and beyond, as part of a Just Transition themed weekend of events.
• Funding Creative Carbon Scotland to premiere the short film Climate Action Needs Culture, during COP26 in Glasgow. Produced by Picture Zero and narrated by Scottish-Nigerian supermodel, actress, and activist Eunice Olumide MBE, the film calls for culture to be front and centre of climate action.
• Supporting culture organisations, including Creative Carbon Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland and Museums Galleries Scotland to deliver a series of cultural events, published through the new CultureAtCOP.com website. This included the Climate Beacons for COP26 project, involving public engagement-focused partnerships between cultural and environmental organisations at seven Beacons across Scotland; a COP26 Conversations series, with 24 pre-COP events, and the ten metre high STORM puppet which journeyed through Glasgow during COP26.