Climate Adaptation Strategy
for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly
Creating a resilient, net-zero Devon, where people and nature thrive!
INTRODUCTION
The Devon, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly (DCIoS) Climate Impacts Group are coordinating regional action on climate adaptation, preparing communities and organisations for a changing climate, and improving resilience across the region.
The Climate Adaptation Strategy, published November 2023, helps communities and organisations across the Southwest better understand the risks their area might face in the future, as climate change increasingly affects the UK. It will also help them to adapt to these changes, thereby improving their resilience and community safety.
The process
The Climate Impacts Group (CIG) produced climate projections for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly to 2059, with the support of the Met Office. The group has reviewed the projections and interpreted its implications for public health, flood risk and the environment in the South West.
This work led to the creation of a Climate Change Risk Register – a document which identifies the range of climate risks that the South West is facing and scores each of them depending on their likelihood and potential impact.
Since August 2022, environmental consultants RSK have been working with the CIG to progress the Adaptation Strategy. The Risk Register has been reviewed, cross referenced with the UK Government’s third national Climate Change Risk Register (CCRA3) and updates made. Strategic level organisations relevant to the management of identified risks have been recorded, as well as urgency scores assigned to the risks, indicating where more action is needed.
RSK conducted workshops with the CIG in November 2022 to identify strategic adaptation options and actions to respond to the identified climate impacts. These adaptation options were finalised during January 2023.
Finally, the CIG worked to identify priorities for regional collaboration on adaptation in the next five years and set these out in an Action Plan, which completes the Adaptation Strategy.
The Strategy was published for a public consultation in May 2023. Following that consultation the Strategy was published in November 2023.
TAKING ACTION
LEARNING RESOURCES
Learning about the potential climate risks we face here in the UK can seem like a daunting task. Here, we have put together some resources to help you understand how our climate is changing, and will continue to change as the effects of global warming increase.
FACTSHEET FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE
This fact sheet was developed by UK Climate Risk as part of an independent assessment into how climate change will impact the United Kingdom. It explains the difference between weather and climate; explains how and why the UK’s climate is changing, and informs readers about what needs to be done to help the UK adapt.
VIDEO EXPLAINING UK CLIMATE RISK
Developed by the Climate Change Committee, this accessible video explains how climate change is currently impacting the UK, before outlining what we need to do to adapt.
CLIMATE IMPACT REPORTS
Here are links to our Climate Impact Reports, which demonstrate the effects climate change will have on the health, safety and wellbeing of communities in Devon.
