Climate Change - Our Approach

Orkney Islands Council shall be a Net Zero Local Authority, collaborating and innovating for a just transition where Orkney’s economy, communities and natural environment all prosper. We will focus on:

• Action and Ownership – to understand and reduce our emissions at the earliest opportunities
• Collaboration and Co-ordination – across Council services and with partners and the community;
• Transparency – in the setting and addressing of our carbon targets; and
• Sustainability – building our resilience and adapting to the changing climate.

The Council Plan has set a high ambition and our Delivery Plan sets actions and milestones.

• Underpinning all of our plans is the Council’s commitment to combat climate change, having joined councils around the world in declaring a climate emergency in 2019. The opportunity to grow our green and blue economies with land and sea-based renewable energy projects will give Orkney a head start in the race to net zero, reducing energy use whilst simultaneously boosting the Orkney economy and maximising benefits for local communities.
  
  
• We will update the Council’s own estate to reduce our carbon footprint, improve the energy efficiency of our social housing and facilitate affordable measures to upgrade cold homes and combat fuel poverty.  The Council is implementing a Carbon management programme through to 2026.   A Net Zero Transition study is also now underway and due to complete in 2025.  Each year the Council submits a report on our climate action progress - available to view on the Sustainable Scotland Network.
  
  
• Impacts of the changing climate are also threats to our communities in coming decades and potentially in the near term, for example through increased extreme weather events and prolonged weather periods. Adapting to the changing climate and supporting the resilience of our communities, will be increasingly important themes for the Council.  The Council already provides an important resilience role and information on flooding and emergencies. In 2024 the Council responded to the Scottish Governments consultation on Climate Change Adaptation.
  
  
• The Council collaborates widely on Climate Change, especially with the thriving Orkney ecosystem of islands-based innovators and actors (across academia, business, NGOs and public agencies).   We support local initiatives and the ambition from the Orkney Community Planning Partnership set out in the 2024 Climate Change vision statement.