Highland Climate Change Risk & Opportunity Assessment (HCCROA)
Climate change is affecting the Highland region. Changes in rainfall patterns, storm intensity, temperature, coastal processes, and drought are influencing health and wellbeing, infrastructure, buildings, ecosystems, and livelihoods. These impacts are expected to intensify over coming decades, even under scenarios where global emissions are reduced.
The Highland Climate Change Risk and Opportunity Assessment (HCCROA) provides a regional overview of climate change risks and opportunities from the present day to the 2080s. It brings together scientific data, economic analysis, regional expertise, and lived experience to establish a shared understanding of where climate change is already having an impact, where risks are expected to increase, and where timely action can influence future outcomes.
The assessment does not prescribe or assign responsibilities for future action. As a regional assessment, it cannot capture all local circumstances and nuances. The HCCROA provides an evidence-based picture of climate risks and opportunities on which individual, community, and organisational interpretation, planning, and action can be built.
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Explore by Theme
The HCCROA’s 50 risks and opportunities are categorised into five themes: health and wellbeing, built environment; community and economy; infrastructure; and land, nature, and food. Climate hazards often affect multiple systems simultaneously, and disruption in one area can rapidly cascade into others. The assessment’s thematic structure should not be misconstrued as a clear delineation between how climate change impacts people, places, and services.
Select a theme to learn more.
Explore Case Studies
The HCCROA is structured in two parts: a technical report encompassing 50 risks and opportunities across five themes, and a case study report with six case studies from across the Highland region. Each case study includes a description of the respective organisation, place, or industry profiled, a qualitative account of current climate change impacts and adaptation plans, and how the case study relates to risks and opportunities in the technical report.
Select a case study to learn more.
