Climate Change-Related Briefings from Scottish Parliament Information Centre

Tuesday, 17 July 2012, 4:56 PM

The Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) has recently published a number of research briefings relating to sustainable development and climate change. Briefings include: ‘Climate Change – the Role of the Individual’, ‘Rio+20: United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development’, ‘Offshore Renewable Energy’ and ‘Peatlands and Climate Change’.

The briefings are prepared by research specialists to be used by MSPs to support parliamentary business, but are also highly relevant to policymakers and practitioners.

Latest climate change and sustainable development briefings include:

• Climate Change – the role of the individual (Published 13 July) : This briefing discusses factors that affect pro-environmental behaviour change, such as leadership, cost and social norms. In addition, the briefing examines the key areas where individuals can change their behaviour to lead a more sustainable lifestyle and describes associated policy encouraging people to do so.
• Rio+20 – United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Published 19 June) : This briefing, written in advance of the Rio+20 conference, outlines developments since the 1992 Rio conference on sustainable development, and what the expectations are for the 2012 meeting.
• Offshore Renewable Energy (Published 8 June) : This briefing explores the harnessing of tidal, wave and offshore wind resources to generate electricity. It considers the potential of technologies, environmental impacts, the planning process, connecting to the grid, and funding. It also briefly explores the future deployment of offshore renewables in Scotland and further afield.
• Peatlands and Climate Change (Published 20 April) : This briefing describes the ecosystems services provided by peatlands in Scotland, with particular emphasis on their importance for climate change mitigation.