A Sustainable Scotland Network (SSN) Climate Change Impact Assessment Task and Finish Group has developed a practical guide for local authorities and other public bodies developing and implementing a Climate Change Impact Assessment process.
A Climate Change Impact Assessment (CCIA) is intended to provide real value in determining the way decisions impact the climate. It can be a valuable tool for public bodies when putting net zero commitment principles into practice or meet related statutory requirements.
This CCIA guidance, prepared by the SSN CCIA Task and Finish Group, aims to provide value to those starting with a blank piece of paper, but also provide useful context on progress made and advice on continual improvement for those who already have a process in place.
The CCIA guidance aims to:
- set out things to consider or questions to ask yourself when introducing a CCIA into your decision-making frameworks;
- show how you can achieve better value outputs;
- address some of the hurdles you will likely face, and;
- propose solutions to overcome these hurdles.
The Task and Finish Group was made up of climate change and sustainability practitioners from across the SSN membership, chaired by Sam Ibbott (Climate Change Officer, East Renfrewshire Council) with further support provided by the Improvement Service. The findings within the report are the result of the collaboration of this group who volunteered their time to produce this guidance. The document is not static and will continue to evolve over time as the body of evidence grows as to what works, what doesn’t and what requires greater collaborative thinking.