Morning, Thursday, 5th November 2026
Online
This conference will assess next steps for climate policy in Scotland, including emissions reduction, adaptation and resilience, nature recovery, industrial transition, and the implications for sectors and communities.
Areas for discussion include practical considerations for the delivery of measures across the first carbon budget periods, investment and the economic impact of transition, adaptation and infrastructure resilience, the relationship between climate, biodiversity and land use policy, as well as priorities for jobs, skills and communities.
It will bring together key stakeholders and policymakers following publication of the Climate Change Plan 2026-2040 and the introduction of statutory carbon budget periods, alongside ongoing implementation of the Scottish National Adaptation Plan 2024-2029. Delegates will assess priorities arising from these frameworks, including the development and practical application of measures across sectors, implications for businesses, public bodies and communities, and how policy might respond to funding, infrastructure, technological and delivery constraints.
Further discussion will examine arrangements for accountability, monitoring and policy adjustment over the coming carbon budget periods. Attendees will examine the respective roles of national and local government, public bodies, businesses and other delivery partners, as well as approaches to supporting coherent decision-making while taking account of sectoral circumstances and wider economic, environmental and social pressures.
Carbon budgets, delivery & accountability
Sessions will focus on practicalities and next steps for taking forward Scotland’s emissions reduction commitments over the first statutory carbon budget periods, including the sequencing and practical application of measures across sectors.
Overall, areas for discussion include:
- near-term action: measures available within the first budget periods - implications for sectors - priorities for practical delivery
- future measures: reliance on developing technologies and infrastructure - timing and dependencies - approaches where progress differs from expectations
- monitoring: evidence for assessing performance - wider impacts of policy - use of findings to inform future decisions
- accountability: transparency of progress - allocation of institutional responsibilities - arrangements for scrutiny and review
- policy adjustment: responding to implementation experience - economic and technological change - scope for adapting measures over time
Climate adaptation, infrastructure & local resilience
Sessions will assess progress in implementing the Scottish National Adaptation Plan 2024-2029 and options for embedding adaptation more consistently in policy, investment and operational decision-making.
Overall, areas for discussion include:
- delivery capacity: funding and workforce requirements - competing pressures on public services - practical implications for delivery bodies
- local priorities: flexibility for local authorities and partners - differing regional needs - use of local knowledge in decision-making
- regional working: development of Climate Ready Regions - cross-sector co-ordination - responsibilities across national and local bodies
- investment: integrating resilience into infrastructure and spending decisions - long-term planning - uncertainty over the scale and timing of impacts
- stakeholder roles: implications for public bodies, infrastructure providers and businesses - community involvement - sharing responsibilities for resilience
Flooding & coastal change
The conference will discuss implementation of the National Flood Resilience Strategy and wider approaches to flooding, coastal change and infrastructure resilience.
Overall, areas for discussion include:
- preparedness: priorities for prevention, local resilience and recovery - roles of public bodies, businesses, insurers and communities
- coastal planning: development of Coastal Change Adaptation Plans - local and national responsibilities - implications for affected areas
- nature-based measures: potential contribution to flood and coastal resilience - practical limitations - relationship with engineered protection
- funding: investment and maintenance requirements - allocation of costs - capacity for sustained delivery
- local decisions: approaches to protection, adaptation or managed change - community involvement - transparency and accountability
Nature recovery, farming & land use
Sessions will examine implementation of nature and biodiversity measures, including provisions in the Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2026 and progress towards the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy’s aim of halting biodiversity loss by 2030.
Overall, areas for discussion include:
- nature targets: implementation of statutory restoration targets - monitoring and enforcement - funding and accountability
- legislative change: changes to wildlife legislation - modernisation of National Parks - interaction with existing requirements
- land use: alignment between biodiversity, climate and land use policy - implications for planning - co-ordination across policy areas
- rural sectors: effects on farming, crofting, forestry and woodland management - food production and livelihoods - practical delivery
- development: implications for housing and infrastructure - reconciling development and nature recovery - clarity for land managers and investors
Industrial transition, investment & the circular economy
The agenda will examine the Green Industrial Strategy and the conditions affecting industrial decarbonisation, investment and competitiveness, alongside implementation of circular economy policy.
Overall, areas for discussion include:
- investment conditions: policy and funding certainty - commercial and delivery risk - priorities for attracting public and private capital
- infrastructure: planning and consenting - access to energy and networks - capacity to support industrial transition
- sector impacts: pace and cost of emissions reduction - implications for established and emerging industries - effects on the built environment
- technology uptake: adoption of low-carbon technologies - investment in energy performance - barriers for businesses of different sizes
- jobs and supply chains: future of emissions-intensive sites - development of domestic capability - securing economic benefits within Scotland
- circular economy: implementation of the 2024 Act and strategy - resource efficiency, reuse and repair - implications for businesses and consumers
- delivery conditions: infrastructure and incentives for circular models - regulatory clarity - managing costs and barriers to participation
Jobs, skills, communities & the distribution of impacts
Sessions will consider how the costs, risks and potential benefits associated with climate policy are experienced across regions, workplaces, communities and businesses of different sizes.
Overall, areas for discussion include:
- local benefits: experience of the Just Transition Fund - impact of investment on regional economies - prospects for durable community benefit
- worker voice: involvement of workers and employers in decisions - quality and security of employment - support for affected workplaces
- skills: proposals for a National Skills Plan - co-ordination between government, education and employers - regional workforce needs
- transition support: transferability of skills from existing industries - access to retraining - assistance for sectors facing significant adjustment
- affordability: effects on households, services and business models - distribution of costs - support where capacity to absorb change is limited
- public confidence: transparent communication of policy choices and impacts - engagement with affected groups - recognition of local circumstances
All delegates will be able to contribute to the output of the conference, which will be shared with parliamentary, ministerial, departmental and regulatory offices, and more widely. This includes the full proceedings and additional articles submitted by delegates.
