In this blog I want to raise an issue that tends to go under the radar. Adaptation to climate change. Most discussions about climate policy at the moment tend to focus on ‘mitigation’, the new targets and measures that are needed to reach ‘Net Zero’. But adaptation is incredibly important and needs greater attention.
What do I mean by adaptation? Well, we know that humans have caused one degree Celsius of warming to the atmosphere over the past century and that the climate is already changing as a result. We have seen many extreme global weather events in 2021 and we think that these are just a taster of what is to come. In Scotland, in addition to a rise in temperature, we expect to see drier summers and wetter winters, and with this we will see challenges in relation to such issues as the continuity of water supplies, irrigation for food production, flooding, and new pests and diseases. Consequently, we will have to change the way we do things to reflect the changing climate. That is what adaptation is about; what are the risks that we face and how will we deal with them?
Although adaptation is the poor relation to mitigation right now, we do have to think about it, and the latest Scottish Government Adaptation Programme was published in 2019. This is a really important document and one of the key issues it addresses is the threat to the natural environment.
We know that a healthy, functioning natural environment is essential for biodiversity, food production, forestry and for the continued delivery of key ecosystem services such as flooding mitigation. A healthy environment is therefore essential to the economy and to the health and well-being of our society. But we also know that climate change will present real challenges for biodiversity and for the continued delivery of these ecosystem services. The Adaptation Programme therefore focuses on the policies and proposals that the government can implement to help nature adapt and remain resilient to change.
This is incredibly important and something that we in the RSPB wholeheartedly support. Indeed, one of the reasons we are so keen to see Climate and Nature Networks established in Scotland is because they will help nature remain resilient in the face of climate change.
But there is scope, I believe, to also think about nature is a slightly different way. Yes, there is a threat to nature from climate change, but if we look after nature, nature can also help us.
A report we commissioned, along with WWF, into the role of ‘Nature-based Solutions’ in climate adaptation policy recently concluded that nature can play an important role in helping the UK to adapt to the impacts of climate change, including sea-level rise, floods, droughts and heatwaves.
We’re not claiming any earth-shattering insight here; there are already a wide range of nature-based adaptation solutions being deployed in Scotland. As sea levels rise, habitats such as saltmarshes help to protect against coastal flooding and erosion and we have undertaken coastal re-alignment projects at Skinflats and Nigg Bay with this in mind. Similarly, the government is seeking to ramp up levels of peatland restoration. Restoring peatlands to good health not only reduces emissions from this habitat (they are currently a large source of greenhouse gas emissions because they are damaged), but it also helps them function better and deliver the full suite of ecosystem services such as helping reduce flooding downstream. At Forsinard we’ve spent decades working hard to restore the peatland to good health. In their full glory, restored peatlands are thriving sites for species and habitats, unique and beautiful places that also help regulate the carbon that heats the globe.
A tidal pool, part of the Skinflats Tidal Exchange Project which forms a feeding ground for waders and ducks at high tide, part of an attempt by to form a new salt marsh to create a feeding ground for birds and alleviate flooding locally.
The point is that nature is part of the solution. Yes, we have to help nature adapt, but at the same time, if we do it carefully, nature can play a role in our wider adaptation efforts. Nature can help slow the flow of rivers, avoid extreme impacts of dry weather and potentially reduce the impact of coastal flooding.
Investing in nature restoration must be part of our response to climate change. By investing in nature—for example, in things like native woodland creation or peatland restoration—we can potentially avoid more expensive, engineering-led adaptation options.
The nature and climate emergencies are inter-linked, and we cannot address them separately. By investing in nature to help adaptation to climate change, we can also reverse the biodiversity declines we have witnessed in recent decades and restore sites that we know are essential for both the heath of people and our planet.
Please do have a look at our report which you can find here. I’m delighted climate change finally seems to be making it’s way to the top of the agenda but we must not fix one problem only to exacerbate another – if we deal with the climate and nature crisis as the single challenge it genuinely is, we’ll build a much better tomorrow.