Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 14 January 2014
14 Jan 2014 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Draft Climate Change Adaptation Programme
It is probably fair to say that climate change adaptation often plays second fiddle to the mitigation agenda and the urgent need to reduce our emissions. That is true in relation to public perception, media coverage, political debate and institutional knowledge. To be fair, it is even true in relation to the environment movement and the issues that people campaign on.
Although I am sure that all the contributors to the debate understand the difference between climate and weather, when we see—either at first hand or on our television screens—images depicting the impact of extreme weather events, flooding, wind and rain, drought and heat wave, and when we experience those things in our lives, it is an opportunity to consider both sides of the coin: adaptation and mitigation.
There is some overlap between the two. Changing land use patterns are raised by both agendas. There is overlap in issues of infrastructure and a just transition. That particularly applies to Scotland, where, as the minister said, a great deal of our economy is reliant on issues to do with land use, whether that is agriculture for domestic consumption or export, tourism or other uses.
I would echo some of the points that have been made, such as Sarah Boyack’s argument on the need to consider flood management in every single planning decision that is made, or Alex Fergusson’s argument that a longer-term approach needs to be taken to these issues rather than just a five-year cycle. I think that the latter point was echoed in Scottish Environment LINK’s briefing to members.
The area that I want to focus on is one in which I feel that more work needs to be done. It was not until page 53 of the draft programme that we started to hear about the impact that climate change will have on the wider world and Scotland’s need to adapt to that. Scotland adapting to climate change is not just about adapting to the extreme weather impacts that climate change will bring in Scotland; it is about adapting to a wider world.
On page 53, the draft programme says:
“The Scottish economy may be affected by the impacts of climate change overseas. These effects may be considerable, and possibly larger than the immediate impacts of climate change in Scotland.”
It does not unpack that argument and the range of scenarios that we may encounter in any great detail. I can see very little in the list of actions that relate to that. The programme goes on to say:
“At a global scale, the impacts of climate change could also lead to restrictions on food supply—leading to higher prices and lower availability in Scotland. This would exacerbate food-related health and social inequalities in Scotland.”
That is true, but it is only really the beginning of an attempt to engage with that argument.
In continuing to develop the strategy, and as it moves from a draft into a final document, I would strongly encourage the Government to do more work on that aspect. We are living in such a globalised world that there is no one in this room who cannot immediately lay their hands on products that arrived on these shores in a shipping container. If the projections about sea level rise that we are hearing come true, every piece of port infrastructure in this globalised world is at risk.
What happens when that infrastructure starts to fail? What happens to crops in a globalised world? We have seen in the recent meat crisis just how complex and convoluted our food supply chains are. What happens when crops fail in developing countries? What happens when Governments fail and when conflict arises over access to land and water? What happens when populations migrate? I urge the Government to give greater consideration not just to the adaptation that Scotland needs to make to changing weather patterns at home but to our adaptation to a changing global climate, economically as well as in absolute climate change terms.
16:34
Although I am sure that all the contributors to the debate understand the difference between climate and weather, when we see—either at first hand or on our television screens—images depicting the impact of extreme weather events, flooding, wind and rain, drought and heat wave, and when we experience those things in our lives, it is an opportunity to consider both sides of the coin: adaptation and mitigation.
There is some overlap between the two. Changing land use patterns are raised by both agendas. There is overlap in issues of infrastructure and a just transition. That particularly applies to Scotland, where, as the minister said, a great deal of our economy is reliant on issues to do with land use, whether that is agriculture for domestic consumption or export, tourism or other uses.
I would echo some of the points that have been made, such as Sarah Boyack’s argument on the need to consider flood management in every single planning decision that is made, or Alex Fergusson’s argument that a longer-term approach needs to be taken to these issues rather than just a five-year cycle. I think that the latter point was echoed in Scottish Environment LINK’s briefing to members.
The area that I want to focus on is one in which I feel that more work needs to be done. It was not until page 53 of the draft programme that we started to hear about the impact that climate change will have on the wider world and Scotland’s need to adapt to that. Scotland adapting to climate change is not just about adapting to the extreme weather impacts that climate change will bring in Scotland; it is about adapting to a wider world.
On page 53, the draft programme says:
“The Scottish economy may be affected by the impacts of climate change overseas. These effects may be considerable, and possibly larger than the immediate impacts of climate change in Scotland.”
It does not unpack that argument and the range of scenarios that we may encounter in any great detail. I can see very little in the list of actions that relate to that. The programme goes on to say:
“At a global scale, the impacts of climate change could also lead to restrictions on food supply—leading to higher prices and lower availability in Scotland. This would exacerbate food-related health and social inequalities in Scotland.”
That is true, but it is only really the beginning of an attempt to engage with that argument.
In continuing to develop the strategy, and as it moves from a draft into a final document, I would strongly encourage the Government to do more work on that aspect. We are living in such a globalised world that there is no one in this room who cannot immediately lay their hands on products that arrived on these shores in a shipping container. If the projections about sea level rise that we are hearing come true, every piece of port infrastructure in this globalised world is at risk.
What happens when that infrastructure starts to fail? What happens to crops in a globalised world? We have seen in the recent meat crisis just how complex and convoluted our food supply chains are. What happens when crops fail in developing countries? What happens when Governments fail and when conflict arises over access to land and water? What happens when populations migrate? I urge the Government to give greater consideration not just to the adaptation that Scotland needs to make to changing weather patterns at home but to our adaptation to a changing global climate, economically as well as in absolute climate change terms.
16:34
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Elaine Smith)
Lab
The next item of business is a debate on motion S4M-08732, in the name of Rob Gibson, on the Scottish Government’s consultation on its draft climate change a...
Rob Gibson (Caithness, Sutherland and Ross) (SNP)
SNP
Presiding Officer, I crave your indulgence as I try to get all the detail in.Change and adaptation are rarely easy. How many psychiatrists does it take to ch...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Lab
I remind members who wish to speak in the debate that they should press their request-to-speak buttons. I call Paul Wheelhouse. Minister, you have seven minu...
The Minister for Environment and Climate Change (Paul Wheelhouse)
SNP
Thank you, Presiding Officer.I thank the Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee for its efforts in scrutinising the draft Scottish climate c...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Lab
Minister, will you draw to a close, please?
Paul Wheelhouse
SNP
I will, Presiding Officer.I hope to pick up on some additional points in my closing speech. Suffice it to say that Scotland is well placed to respond to clim...
Claudia Beamish (South Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
This committee debate is extremely important and timely as it comes in the immediate aftermath of the recent severe weather and flooding. They focused all ou...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (John Scott)
Con
Can you draw to a close, please?
Claudia Beamish
Lab
That chimes with some of the committee’s recommendations. I ask the minister to take forward those fundamental governance issues in the final adaptation prog...
Alex Fergusson (Galloway and West Dumfries) (Con)
Con
I am not a great fan of the phrase “adopting a holistic approach”, but one thing is for sure: if climate change adaptation is to be successfully mainstreamed...
Angus MacDonald (Falkirk East) (SNP)
SNP
I say at the outset that I am pleased to contribute to the debate. It is an important issue that requires the attention of all parliamentarians and all commi...
Sarah Boyack (Lothian) (Lab)
Lab
I thank the committee and witnesses for their work in getting us to this debate today.I want to focus on the processes and principles of adaptation in relati...
Nigel Don (Angus North and Mearns) (SNP)
SNP
I hardly need to point out in the early part of 2014 that climate change is with us. We have clearly reached the point where it does not matter why it is hap...
Nigel Don
SNP
Yes; that is long overdue. We cannot do things with land without maps, so I am delighted to hear that we have got that far. I must take issue with what has b...
Jim Hume (South Scotland) (LD)
LD
Like many other members, I was proud to put through the Parliament the Climate Change (Scotland) Bill back in 2009. Although at the time there were differenc...
Jamie Hepburn (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (SNP)
SNP
I welcome the debate, and I thank the committee for bringing it to the chamber and for the work that it has done in assessing the draft climate change adapta...
Cara Hilton (Dunfermline) (Lab)
Lab
We have robust evidence for global warming, as colleagues have already said, but there are still many unknowns and variables involved in predicting exactly h...
Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green)
Green
It is probably fair to say that climate change adaptation often plays second fiddle to the mitigation agenda and the urgent need to reduce our emissions. Tha...
Alex Fergusson
Con
The debate has seen a fair amount of consensus throughout the chamber, which is very much as it should be in a debate of this nature. Climate change presents...
Claudia Beamish
Lab
I stress that a thread running through the adaptation programme is the value of interconnections and partnerships, showing the need for clear paths of commun...
Paul Wheelhouse
SNP
I thank members. I agree with Alex Fergusson that the debate has been consensual. It has been rightly so, because we are talking about a matter that cuts acr...
Alex Fergusson
Con
Do targets have a role to play in monitoring and evaluation?
Paul Wheelhouse
SNP
I think that they do. Nigel Don made valid points about that. It is important to have a focus that drives effort, and the maxim about what is measured being ...
Graeme Dey (Angus South) (SNP)
SNP
My preparing for the debate prompted me to re-read in detail the evidence on the draft programme that was given during two stakeholder meetings that were hel...
Paul Wheelhouse
SNP
I thank the deputy convener for taking an intervention and I apologise for interrupting. The Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 specified a five-year time ho...
Graeme Dey
SNP
I thank the minister for that input. We are aware that they are five-year programmes, but there is a general point that we must look as far beyond that timef...
Sarah Boyack
Lab
Graeme Dey has made an extremely useful point about the capacity of institutions to provide practical examples of what we can all do. Institutions such as co...
Graeme Dey
SNP
Sarah Boyack has made a very good point. I do not think that there is anything that I can add to that.There is so much more that can be done, as Sarah Boyack...