Research

Ongoing research

We commission research and analysis to support the Scottish Government as it develops policies on adapting to the changing climate and transitioning to net zero.

We deliver rapid-response research projects in answer to particular research questions via open procurement. Project requests are shaped in response to Scottish Government evidence calls at several points in the year.

We also commission Research Fellowships to offer more long-term support to policy teams. These research opportunities focus on responding to specific policy questions and evidence needs, rather than necessarily carrying out primary research.. Our Fellows, are often embedded with the relevant Scottish Government policy division.

Open research calls can be found on Invitations to quote page while examples of previous work and impact can be found on the Research and Impact case studies pages. Our step-by-step guide on best practice in responding to our invitations to quote for projects can be found on the page Tips for writing research proposals.

For more information about any of our ongoing research projects, please contact info@climatexchange.org.uk.

Sign up and engage with us

To be alerted to new invitations to quote (research calls) via email, please sign up on our Newsletter page.

We also encourage researchers to offer us insights that may be relevant to climate-related policies. This can be done for instance by contacting us about research evidence or to suggest blog posts.

Our current ongoing research projects

Scottish ports’ offshore wind capabilities and capacity

Optimising port use and infrastructure is key to driving economic growth and job opportunities. This research will inform the Scottish Government’s understanding of Scottish ports’ current capacity, capability and readiness to support the offshore wind pipeline and support its strategic approach to offshore wind port infrastructure development and planning..

This research project began in January 2026 and is being managed by Nicola Dunn.

Fellowship: Approaches to setting and monitoring climate adaptation targets in Scotland

For this project a researcher is embedded directly within Scottish Government. They are helping to design and apply a robust analytical framework in order to generate empirical insights into how adaptation policy targets can be applied in the Scottish context.

This research project started in April 2026 and is being managed by Jonny Casey.

Fellowship: Developing an approach for evaluating the Scottish Government’s contribution to delivery of a just transition for Scotland

This work extends the 2025/2026 Fellowship work on monitoring and evaluating a just transition. It will build on the earlier outputs to develop an approach to evaluation of just transition, providing insights on how and why a just transition is or is not being delivered.

This research project started in June 2026 and is being managed by Colin Seditas.

Fellowship: Accelerating the use of behavioural science in climate policy making

This project will build on momentum from the CXC-convened roundtables, in September 2025 and Febraury 2026, on how Scottish Government can accelrate the use of behavoural science in climate policymaking. The research fellow will support the Scottish Government to enhance the use of behavioural science across cliamte policy and public enagement.

This research project will start in September 2026 and is being managed by Colin Seditas.

Comparative analysis for farming practices for climate change outcomes

This project will deliver a focused, policy-ready comparison of three agricultural approaches: precision farming, maximum sustainable output, and organic farming. It will assess their financial performance, greenhouse gas emissions, and applicability across key Scottish farming systems to generate clear, comparable evidence to support implementation of Scotland’s Climate Change Plan and Agricultural Reform Programme.

This research project started in July 2026 and is being managed by Sarah Govan.

Just resilience: Understanding the experiences of low-income households facing increasing climate disruption

This research will explore how low-income households experience increasing climate disruption. Climate impacts such as flooding, extreme heat and cold, storms and wildfires do not affect all people equally; instead, exposure, vulnerability and adaptive capacity vary significantly depending on social and economic circumstances. This project will build on CXC’s previous scoping review on the impacts of climate change on population groups.

This research project started in July 2026 and is being managed by Jonny Casey.

The feasibility of nature-based solutions for flood risk for the NHS Scotland estate

The NHS Estate in Scotland is diverse in scale, purpose and location – from large urban hospital complexes to small island healthcare properties. This project will generate evidence on where and how nature-based solutions may be practically integrated to help address flood risk within NHS Scotland’s estate. The aim is to understand the potential to improve resilience and support greener healthcare environments aligned with biodiversity as well as place-based climate objectives.

This research project started in July 2026 and is being managed by Jonny Casey.

A review of the Scottish Landfill Tax

This project will assess whether Scottish Landfill Tax remains fit for purpose in supporting Scottish Government’s environmental objectives, including the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. It will include consideration of the case for changes to the current tax structure (including the tax rates) to ensure SLfT continues to drive sustainable resource management and circular economy goals.

This research project started in June 2026 and is being managed by Colin Seditas.

Net zero at home

This research will set out Scotland’s household emissions and the associated actions that could support progress towards net zero. The project will provide Scotland-specific framing of household emissions in the context of the wider national picture, and will aim to identify changes that will deliver net zero and how they will change over time.

This research project started in June 2026 and is being managed by Nicola Dunn.

The emissions impacts of anaerobic digestion across whisky production in Scotland

This project will model the potential maximum use of anaerobic digestion by the whisky industry, the economic viability of anaerobic digestion byproducts, and assess the evidence on the lifecycle carbon impact of those byproducts. The research will specifically draw lessons from the anaerobic digestion market in Denmark.

This research project started in June 2026 and is being managed by Emma Dore.

Capital funding for climate action in Scottish agriculture

This project will identify specific targeted capital investment activities that are required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve business climate resilience across Scotland’s farming communities.

This research project started in June 2026 and is being managed by Sarah Govan.

Monitoring catchment-scale restoration outcomes for climate adaptation and biodiversity

There is a growing need to collate better evidence to quantify the wide range of benefits delivered by using nature-based solutions at catchment scale. This scoping study will involve a desk-based assessment of the monitoring in existing catchment scale projects, examine evidence gaps and explore options to fill these gaps.

This research project started in July 2026 and is being managed by Sarah Govan.

How to assess impacts of climate policy on health outcomes

There is a need to develop a better understanding of how to evaluate the positive and negative health outcomes of climate policies.This project will investigate how to design an effective approach to monitoring and evaluation of climate policy delivery against improved health and reduced health inequalities using Scottish Government’s Warmer Homes Scotland Scheme as an exemplar. The designed approach will then be used develop lessons for extending the framework to other policy areas in future.

This research project started in August 2026 and is being managed by Nicola Dunn.

Hydrogen deployment model refinement

CXC recently published a low-carbon hydrogen deployment model for Scotland. It was part of wider work to update the evidence base on Scotland’s hydrogen potential in light of significant policy, market, and technological developments since the 2020 Scottish Hydrogen Assessment (SHA). This follow-up project will refine elements of the deployment model to improve the robustness and policy relevance of the model as part of a refreshed Hydrogen Strategy in September.

This research project started in July 2026 and is being managed by Colin Seditas.

Farm carbon audits and regenerative farming practicies in Scotland

Scotland aims to be a world leader in regenerative farming and carbon audits are important to the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in the agriculture and land use sectors. This reserach aims to better understand the assumptions, modelling approaches and data gaps in the current carbon audit system. And to identify steps to enhance their ability to account for the diversity of all farmering and crofting practices and systems in Scotland.

This research project started in August 2026 and is being managed by Sarah Govan.