Oxfordshire County Council: Guide to local climate adaptation aids learning

A new UK-wide guide – Introduction to Local Climate Adaptation – has been released to bolster local climate resilience.

Developed as part of the Local Climate Adaptation Tool (LCAT), the action-focused guide builds confidence and understanding of climate adaptation to support climate action across the UK.

It was co-funded by BlueAdapt and Oxfordshire County Council and co-created with professionals from across Oxfordshire and the UK.

Download the guide

The need to adapt to climate change is urgent and local decision makers are at the front line. However, many report that a lack of knowledge, skills and confidence is holding back action.

Adaptation aims to reduce risks and maximise opportunities related to the impacts of climate change that are already here and predicted in the future. By making adaptations, local areas can reduce some of the negative impacts of climate change. There is also a huge opportunity to change things for the better by choosing options that support health, nature and equality.

In order to do this well, decision-makers need to build their knowledge and skills in basic climate science alongside principles of best practice and processes by which to assess and respond to a changing climate.

Understanding is key to avoiding maladaptation, building community resilience, and reducing risk.

Working in co-design with professionals across Oxfordshire and the UK, researchers at the University of Exeter’s LCAT project, identified the need for a learning resource which would support this approach.

Over the course of a year, and multiple workshops, professionals from across sectors and hierarchies within Oxfordshire and wider explored:

• learning needs and barriers to climate action 
• current understanding of climate change and adaptation
• formats for a learning resource including design and style.

A specification was co-developed and funding was agreed from BlueAdapt and Oxfordshire County Council. Stakeholders collectively agreed that the resource should be:

• led by visuals 
• simple, quick and easy to understand 
• positive-focused 
• solutions-focused 
• inclusive of case studies from across the UK 
• signpost out to multiple trusted sources for further learning.

In May 2024, the new learning guide was published on the LCAT website to complement the tool and support local areas to upskill themselves on climate adaptation.

The guide aims to:

• introduce people to the concept of climate adaptation and why it is essential
• increase people’s understanding of the benefits of adaptation and what good looks like
• develop people’s skills in applying best practice, taking a step-by-step process and supporting the most vulnerable communities in their area
• showcase case studies from across the UK alongside other useful resources and tools.

This new guide is part of the LCAT project.

LCAT is an online tool that supports decision-makers at a local level to take evidence-informed climate action. Designed with, and created for, local UK decision-makers.

It provides information on:

• how local climates will change
• what the likely hazards are (for example, flooding/ wildfires)
• what health and community impacts may occur as a result
• who will be most vulnerable and why
• which adaptations to consider.

Read more about the Local Climate Adaptation Tool's national roll out.

LCAT is a project between University of Exeter and Cornwall Council, currently funded by Horizon Europe BlueAdapt project. Over the coming two years the project plans to update and develop LCAT further and run an evaluation. Updates include development of downloadable data/ reports, bringing more data into the tool to provide more localised outputs, highlighting co-benefits and enhancing the case study offer.

• There are multiple barriers holding back local climate adaptation. One key theme is knowledge, skills and confidence. Learning resources are needed which must respond to the needs of the learner. 
• By working in co-design with decision-makers across the UK and Oxfordshire, and across disciplines, we were able to deepen our understanding of this issue and respond appropriately in terms of content and design. 
• Local decision-makers lack time for learning and are coming at this topic from very different places. Resources must be short, easy to digest and in plain English. Design-led, visual resources that lead on benefits, case stories and solutions inspire action.

• Oxfordshire Climate Action Team: [email protected]
• University of Exeter: [email protected]
• The new guide: LCAT introduction to local climate adapatation
• News story: New climate adaptation tool released for local policy (European Centre for Environment and Human Health)
• LCAT Local Climate Adapation tool
• Project page for LCAT: New Local Climate Adaptation Tool Supports Health and Wellbeing (European Centre for Environment and Human Health)