From wetter weather to warmer temperatures, our climate is changing and bringing considerable new challenges for the city. This means Aberdeen will need to get ready, adapting to the impacts.

Aberdeen City Council worked with the University of Aberdeen, Adaptation Scotland and local organisations to develop Aberdeen Adapts, a city-wide climate adaptation framework.

Originally approved in 2019, Aberdeen Adapts was refreshed in 2022 to show synergies and interdependencies with the Net Zero Aberdeen Routemap. The Framework aims to increase awareness of the climate challenges facing Aberdeen and set the foundations for long term local partnership working on climate change.

Why adapt to climate change?

Climate change is expected to bring more frequent and severe weather events. Taking action to prepare for and respond to this change is called adaptation. It can help to protect Aberdeen’s places, people and economy.

Information on relevant climate projections and risks for Aberdeen is set out in an Evidence Base document.

Collaborative approach

Collaboration is crucial to Aberdeen Adapts. 41 local organisations participated in 5 stakeholder workshops. These:

• Looked at the impacts of climate change for Aberdeen.
• Collected ideas for vision and strategy.
• Shared information about actions that are already underway or are planned to support adaptation.
• Examined opportunities for increasing resilience.

To take on board the views of young people, six Climate Ready Places workshops took place at three city schools. Stakeholder surveys were carried out and use of the arts explored new ways of engaging people in climate change.

Students on the MSc course in Environmental Partnership Management at the University of Aberdeen helped support this work, gathering background information to inform Aberdeen Adapts and looking at community resilience.

Contact details

For more information or if you would like to get involved with Aberdeen Adapts please email ecocity@aberdeencity.gov.uk