Aberdeen Adapts – an adaptation framework for Aberdeen

Project On-going
Date added: 07/07/2023

The Aberdeen Adapts framework tells the story of how Aberdeen will increase resilience and adapts to the impacts of climate change.

Aberdeen Adapts aims to help the city of Aberdeen become more resilient to the impacts of climate change by creating its a climate change adaptation framework, the project was selected for support from Adaptation Scotland following an open call for place-based partnerships in summer 2016.

Jointly led by Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeen University, the project has used a wide range of engagement activities to collect views from local stakeholders on how best to prepare for the risks, and seize the opportunities inherent in our changing climate.

Through a series of five engagement workshops, six Climate Ready Places workshops with young people in schools across the city, and a mini-arts and climate change festival in Middlefield, in the north of the city, a wealth of information was gathered on:

  • the challenges and opportunities that mattered most to organisations/people.
  • information on actions already underway and planned to support an adapting Aberdeen.
  • views on what a well adapting Aberdeen would look like, and
  • opinions on emerging goals, objectives and action areas.

During this process new ways to learn about adaptation engagement were developed and tested such as the use of creative practitioners to find new ways of talking about climate change and aspirations for community development. Adaptation Scotland will share resources and lessons learned from these new approaches in our work with other projects, organisations and initiatives.

Taking on board information from the engagement phase and following production of relevant impact assessments, as well as public consultation to ensure the collective views of participants were accurately represented, Aberdeen Adapts: Climate Adaptation Framework was published in 2019.

Subsequently, to ensure the framework aligned with the place based net zero approach, Aberdeen Adapts was then refreshed in 2022 and published at the same time as the Net Zero Aberdeen Routemap. This enabled synergies and interdependencies between the city net zero and adaptation journeys to be identified.

Next steps

Adapting a city is a long process, taking many years and decades. As no single organisation or community can adapt to climate change on its own, the goals set in the framework focus on partnership actions that the city as a whole should aim for to ensure it becomes climate ready.

Along with developing the framework, a review of place based climate governance took place and following this establishment a stakeholder Net Zero and Adaptation Board for Aberdeen was approved.

In addition, an Aberdeen Climate and Nature pledge was established in November 2022. This invites wider participation; with organisation and individual signatories making a pledge to join the collective journey towards net zero and climate resilience expressed in Net Zero Aberdeen and Aberdeen Adapts.

Get involved

Organisations, businesses and communities based in Aberdeen can get involved in Aberdeen Adapts. To find out more contact [email protected]