Audit Scotland have published a summary of key recommendations for Scottish public bodies in address climate change. It provides a high-level summary of the key improvements that need to be made across the public sector if Scotland is to reach its climate change ambitions of a just transition to net zero and adapting to improve resilience to the effects of the global warming that are already being experienced.
Key themes outlined include:
- Leadership
- Governance
- Community empowerment to develop local solutions
- Behavioural change
- Alignment of policy and spend
- Robust planning for net zero, mitigation, and adaptation
The publication highlights that action is required across various parts of the public sector, with education, skills, and green jobs being perhaps one of the most important and overarching sectors. Changes required from public bodies to allow for climate change adaptation and meeting the net zero target include; universal access to climate education, literacy, and learning; identifying opportunities for green job creation; and public engagement and campaigns to aid the societal change.
Further sectors discussed include;
- Investment
- Research and innovation
- Digital
- Strategic land use, planning, and nature-based solutions
- Blue carbon
- Waste and circular economy
- Travel and transport
- Construction
- Energy
Access the full publication here.