Our Impact

Climate Ready Clyde is supporting Glasgow City Region to flourish in its future climate by:

Collaborating for collective impact. Ensuring society is resilient to climate change requires us to reach across silos, sectors and agendas to create collective impact. Our members are committed to working together and with others in an innovative and inclusive way, so that CRC leads by example and effectively governs the adaptation space.
Informing and shaping the direction of the City Region and wider Scotland. Our members and the secretariat are at the heart of the debates and discussion of the future of the City Region and wider Scotland, helping to shape a climate resilient future, for all those who live and work in the City Region.
Supporting and enabling the City Region to adapt. Our work on evidence, guidance and resources, as well as on direct delivery help those in the City Region to step and go further, faster.
Leading in the global movement for climate action. We place Glasgow City Region’s efforts to adapt on a global stage, showcasing our leading work to inspire and support cities and regions around the world, and connecting with those who can help us accelerate our own work

What we've done in the last year is set out in detail below, with further information on previous years at the bottom of the page.

Our Impact in 2021/22

2020/21 presented a significant step change for Climate Ready Clyde, taking action and ambition to the next level, while addressing how the initiative can support and enable wider delivery across Glasgow City Region.

Launch of the Adaptation Strategy and Action Plan

Climate Ready Clyde developed Glasgow City Region’s first Adaptation Strategy and Action Plan, launched in June 2021. The Strategy and Action Plan sets out an ambitious vision for a City Region flourishing in the future climate, and a transformational approach to adapting to the climate challenge, ensuring that everyone benefits from doing so. The Strategy has been recognised by the Climate Change Committee as an exemplar in addressing climate risk.

The Strategy aims to ensure Glasgow City Region’s economy, society and environment is not only prepared for, but continues to flourish in the face of the impacts arising from the climate crisis. The Strategy:

outlines the processes and early interventions needed to manage climate risks and realise opportunities in line with our Theory of Change
provides a strategic framework for adaptation in and by the Glasgow City Region that fits alongside and supports key plans, policies and activities to enable delivery
sets out how we will deepen and expand collaboration and collective impact by working together and engaging, equipping and enabling citizens and organisations to play a role in realising the vision
sets out how progress in increasing climate resilience will be monitored, evaluated and learnt from to improve policies, strategies, programmes and projects.

We’re seeking real transformation which requires a new approach to enable and equip action that is:

Systems focused – addressing the structural changes required across our economy and society
Inclusive – so that it is community, locality-led, with private sector contributing
Collaborative – with dynamic partnerships and new actors focused on collective outcomes
Innovative and transformative – because true resilience requires changing our culture, finance and institutions

It means:

New governance is required– with changes for oversight, delivery, ownership and agency
New funding is required – using public funds strategically, unlocking private sector investment

The Strategy and Action Plan provides a comprehensive blueprint for how we will make it happen over the next decade and comes in three parts:

Part 1 sets out the background and context, our climate risks and opportunities, our vision, and the case for adaptation
Part 2 is the Adaptation Strategy, setting out the ambition, objectives and relevant policy, before setting out 11 strategic interventions needed by 2030 to take us towards meeting the vision
Part 3 is the Action Plan, setting out 16 Flagship Actions. These are large-scale, high-ambition actions where there is strong consensus on the need for progress, and a recognition of the whole-systems approach that is required to address core, underlying challenges. They represent a significant, step change from business as usual, designed to address systemic challenges, create the conditions for change and inspire further action.

The Strategy and Action Plan introduces a strong focus on ‘Just Resilience’, strengthening the emphasis on protecting the weakest and most vulnerable, to ensure the benefits of adaptation are widely and equitably shared. It presents an ambitious target, to increase the resilience of 140,000 people living in the Region who are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

It also highlights the strong economic case for adaptation, including the impacts of climate change and adaptation on regional GDP in the coming decades and recognising that new investment is urgently required. It presents an ambitious target to close the current adaptation finance gap with an additional £184m a year of investment.

This is a significant output from Climate Ready Clyde, based on extensive engagement and evidence gathering in the last four years. This includes a Climate Risk and Opportunity Assessment, and a Theory of Change which sets out a positive vision and conditions for the City Region to flourish in a future climate. These were brought together, along with political economy mapping and early consideration of the Glasgow Green Deal.

As part of the consultation process for the Strategy, views were sought on the scale of ambition, scope, the extent to which it was fair, its environmental impacts, and how it could better include and involve communities and businesses.

The online launch event, reported by The Guardian and attended by over 100 people, included contributions from Councillor Susan Aitken, Leader of Glasgow City Council and Chair of Glasgow City Region Cabinet; Dr Andy Kerr, UK and Ireland Director, EIT Climate-KIC; and chaired by Severin Carrell, Scotland Editor, The Guardian.

Since the Strategy was launched last June, we have made significant progress on several of the Flagship Actions. This includes:

Establishing the Local Authority Forum for Collaborative Climate Adaptation Action across Glasgow City Region. Local authorities based in Glasgow City Region have established a regional Forum to work together to build capacity to support adaptation action and look for opportunities to deliver integrated and collaborative adaptation. (Flagship Action 1: Local Authorities in the Region working together to build capabilities and deliver collaborative adaptation)

Supporting existing initiatives that seek to build capacity, involve and empower at the community level. Collaborating with Architecture & Design Scotland on the Climate Action Towns programme focusing on Holytown in North Lanarkshire, particularly to support knowledge mapping, and workshops to involve the local community in discussing local climate mitigation and adaptation. (Flagship Action 2: Communities shaping climate-ready places)

Ongoing support and analysis on opportunities for urban woodlands, natural shading areas and community involvement across the Region (Flagship Action 4: Clyde Climate Forest)

Convening relevant transport agencies and organisations to increase and enhance longer term planning and co-ordination to plan for and adapt the transport network to the impacts of climate change. (Flagship Action 8: Regional transport climate resilience group)

Ongoing engagement with Clyde Adaptation Mission, to ensure updated understanding of climate risk across the Clyde, and to support and facilitate a Mission based approach to critical climate risks and challenges. (Flagship Action 11: Clyde Adaptation Mission)

Helping to shape the Glasgow City Region’s Regional Economic Strategy to ensure that climate resilience and broader transformational adaptation is incorporated (Flagship Action 14: Climate resilience embedded into the Regional Economic Strategy and Regional Spatial Strategy)

As part of our work with Clyde Rebuilt, one of EIT Climate-KIC’s Resilient Regions Deep Demonstration projects, Climate Ready Clyde was selected to join the ‘Race to Resilience’, an initiative of the UNFCCC/Global Champions (Flagship Action 16: International leadership: Race to Resilience and TCFD supporters initiative).

Climate Ready Clyde enters a new phase towards transformational climate adaptation

Meeting the ambition of the Strategy and Action Plan, and moving from design phase to delivery, requires a new governance structure for Climate Ready Clyde that can take climate adaptation action and broader engagement across Glasgow City Region to the next level. Over recent months we have reviewed and explored options to facilitate a new delivery phase for the initiative.

This exciting new phase for Climate Ready Clyde seeks to create the conditions for a regional transformation, one that flourishes in the future climate. This can only be achieved by engaging with a broader diversity of actors and sectors and driving systems change. The new governance structure is intended to build these opportunities, inviting participation from the finance sector, business and community / voluntary sector, enabling leadership, with increased authority and pace, to move into delivery.

From May 2022, the new governance structure comprises three interrelated functions:

An Action Group to represent funding organisations, with the seniority, networks and capacity to drive forward delivery of the Adaptation Strategy and Action Plan
A Technical Secretariat to catalyse and create the enabling environment for adaptation, through co-ordination, communication and innovation
Independent Ambassadors to champion adaptation action, promote Climate Ready Clyde, and provide further accountability.

Building on our success to date, the way forward seeks to enable greater inclusivity, joined-up working and collaboration, promoting distributed leadership and clearer accountability, enabling a systems approach to the challenges and opportunities, and delivering action.

COP26

Glasgow welcomed the world as COP26 host in November. This provided a unique opportunity to showcase our work to a wider, international audience. Through a number of side events and international media opportunities, we helped to raise attention to exemplary adaptation measures across the Region, and the role that Climate Ready Clyde plays in raising ambition and catalysing action at the pace required.

Our Impact

Climate Ready Clyde is a unique collaboration which is making a significant contribution to adaptation action in Glasgow City Region, Scotland and the world stage.

Our Impact in 2021/22

Launch of the Adaptation Strategy and Action Plan

Climate Ready Clyde enters a new phase towards transformational climate adaptation

COP26

Our Previous Impact