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02 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
2.1 Climate change is one of the most serious threats facing Scotland and the world today. Due to past emissions, a certain degree of climate change is now unavoidable over the coming decades. The impacts of this change has the potential to significantly effect everyone living and working in Scotland. Therefore, we must act to safeguard our communities and the long-term prosperity of our environment and our economy by adapting to the unavoidable impacts of climate change.
2.2 The Scottish Government has an ambition to deliver a well-adapting Scotland in support of its central purpose of creating a more successful country through sustainable economic growth. It is uniquely placed to influence many of the policy areas central to a strong adaptation response. However, to ensure Scotland is adapting effectively to the impacts of climate change will require the active participation of everyone - individual households, businesses, community groups, the voluntary, public and private sectors.
2.3 The Spending Review 2007 committed the Government to producing Scotland's first strategy to address climate change adaptation. We propose to identify strategic principles and priority actions in the forthcoming Scotland's Climate Change Adaptation Framework as a means of providing leadership, guidance and consistency of approach to government and non-government decision-makers. Scotland's Climate Change Adaptation Framework will also identify roles and responsibilities for public and private decision makers across Scotland. Finally, it will draw links with Government action on mitigating future impacts of climate change, through efforts to reduce emissions.
2.4 We intend to consult on the forthcoming Framework through a two-stage process. This will enable us to engage with the current stakeholder debates on climate adaptation while recognising that the final Framework must be informed by several crucial developments occurring in late 2008 and early 2009. (See paragraph 3.5 for further information).
2.5 This document forms the first stage of the consultation process and proposes the following strategic principles for climate adaptation:
Adaptation should be through actions that build resilience
Adaptation should be continuous and responsive to new information
Adaptation should be integrated into normal development and implementation practices
Adaptation should be integrated at an appropriate scale and involve relevant levels of decision making
Adaptation must be addressed alongside actions to reduce emissions
Adaptation by one sector should not restrict adaptation by other sectors
2.6 We also propose strategic priority actions for climate adaptation:
Where possible, act now
Provide leadership and coordination
Build adaptive capacity
Reduce and manage uncertainty
Educate the public and other sectors on the nature of climate risks and how it can be managed
2.7 The second stage of the consultation process will occur in early 2009 and will identify roles and responsibilities for public and private decision makers across Scotland. It will also draw links with Government action on mitigating future impacts of climate change, through efforts to reduce emissions.
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