Climate Adaptation Strategy for Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire Coastal Forum (PCF), Netherwood Sustainable Futures (NSF) and the Pembrokeshire Public Services Board (PSB) have developed a Climate Adaptation strategy with businesses, local authorities and community groups.
Actions to reduce human emissions of greenhouse gasses are vital to reduce the severity of changes to our climate, but we also need to adapt to anticipated impacts.
The Climate Adaptation Strategy is one of the first in Wales, and was developed over a series of workshops and surgeries which considered:
- Climate risks: multiple risks that are likely to arise from changes to our climate, which may impact on the local economy, natural environment, infrastructure, communities and people’s well-being.
- Climate adaptation: helping to minimise climate change risks that we are locked into due to past greenhouse gas emissions, including unpredictable severe weather, sea-level rise, and changes in natural systems that we rely on.
- Climate resilience: ensuring that Pembrokeshire can deal with the risks in the future.
The process enabled partners to identify 39 climate adaptation priorities for Pembrokeshire, involving multiple issues affecting infrastructure, communities, natural environment, agriculture and in business and industry. These 39 priorities stand alone as a ‘checklist’ of issues that ought to be considered as a normal part of decision making and forward planning across Pembrokeshire.
The process also enabled partners to identify 24 specific climate adaptation actions to build resilience to climate change in Pembrokeshire between 2022 and 2027. It is recommended that the PSB provide strategic leadership and coordination for the delivery of these actions across Pembrokeshire.
The draft Strategy was circulated to 184 contacts during June and July, including PSB members, all Pembrokeshire Councils and the wider community. The first draft of the Strategy was reported by PCF and NSF to the PSB Climate Change Group, full PSB and PSB Climate Change and Environmental Risk Assessment Group (CCERA) in mid July 2022. After integrating additional inputs and amendments, the final Strategy document was presented to the full PSB for consideration at the end of July 2022.
The Climate Adaptation Strategy has now been integrated into Pembrokeshire County Council’s Well-being Plan, which is now up for public consultation until Friday 17th February 2023. Everyone is welcome to add their views on the Plan here: https://haveyoursay.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/draftwellbeing2228
Workshops and Surgeries
A series of workshops and climate “surgeries” helped develop the Strategy document, and the process is shown in the diagram below. Each workshop built the capacity of partners to understand climate risks, consider climate adaptation and identify specific actions to implement in Pembrokeshire to develop climate resilience. Outcomes for each action were also identified.
The individual reports from the workshops are available to download below. There is no report for Workshop 5 as these outputs formed the basis of the Strategy.
The project was funded by the UK Government through the UK Community Renewal Fund. The UK Community Renewal Fund is a UK Government programme for 2021/22. This aims to support people and communities most in need across the UK to pilot programmes and new approaches to prepare for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. It invests in skills, community and place, local business, and supporting people into employment.
For more information visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-community-renewal-fund-prospectus.
A Climate Risk Protocol for Pembrokeshire
Work has begun to develop a Climate Risk Protocol for Pembrokeshire with workshops and interviews of key stakeholders. Developing a protocol is one 24 actions committed to in the Public Service Boards’ Pembrokeshire Climate Adaptation Strategy adopted in 2022.
Netherwood Sustainable Futures and Well-being Planner were commissioned by Pembrokeshire Coastal Forum in February 2023 to develop thinking on a Climate Risk Protocol for agencies, public bodies and the third sector, to guide their work with at risk communities. This is to strengthen resilience and preparedness of communities as the risks from climate change impacts become greater in Pembrokeshire in coming decades.
There are a wide range of potential impacts on Pembrokeshire’s communities from climate change – with clear implications for those situated on the coast and inland, for public services, infrastructure, nature conservation, for health and for business and industry.
Development of a co-created protocol will establish new ways of working between communities and the bodies and organisations that support them, as climate change impacts in coming years.
Three workshops to engage partners agencies, public bodies, third sector, existing networks and community groups to develop thinking on the protocol were organised and a series of 1-1 discussions with key stakeholders such as Pembrokeshire County Council and the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.
The quality of input from those attending the workshops provided valuable insight into how a protocol might help, and what it might contain. Similarly, 1-1 discussions gathered views from many different perspectives.
The next stage is dependent on securing successful funding, and will be focussed on working closely with local communities in Pembrokeshire to develop the protocol further and put the plans into action.
To read more about the protocol development, and an analysis of the insight gathered during the workshops and 1-1 interviews you can download the full report in English and Welsh.
Pembrokeshire Climate Risk Protocol Report (English)
Pembrokeshire Climate Risk Protocol Report (Welsh)
‘This project was funded by Welsh Government’s Coastal Capacity Building Challenge Fund, administered by WCVA.’
