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Evolving evidence demands for Scotland's climate change policy (3 MB)
Report in HTML

Authors

  • Ashrika Sharma
  • Dr Kate Donovan

Published

22 January 2026

Contact

Dr Kate Donovan
Director of Policy
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Evolving evidence demands for Scotland’s climate change policy: Implications for knowledge brokerage

Governments around the world are finding it increasingly difficult to develop effective climate policy in a fast-changing and uncertain environment. Clear, reliable evidence is essential to support good decision-making and help policymakers to respond to the climate challenges of the future.

This report reviews research commissioned by the Scottish Government through ClimateXChange (CXC) from 2011 to 2024. It looks at what types of evidence policymakers have needed, how these needs have changed over time, and what this means for future climate research.

The report finds that most evidence has focused on reducing emissions, particularly in energy, land use and buildings. It also shows a growing need for research that helps anticipate future challenges. The findings offer practical insights for strengthening the link between climate research and real-world policy decisions.

Key findings

  • Most evidence demand has focused on reducing emissions, especially in the sectors of: energy; land use, farming and forestry; and buildings and infrastructure
  • There has been a strong increase in demand for energy system modelling, to better understand how energy is produced, moved and used across the country.
  • Evidence on land use has mainly focused on reducing emissions and storing carbon, particularly through peatland restoration.
  • Research on buildings has centred on energy efficiency and low-carbon technologies.
  • Evidence on climate impacts and adaptation is more scattered and makes up about a third of the research reviewed.
  • There is a growing demand for forward-looking evidence, especially on the impacts of policies, public behaviour and public scrutiny.
  • Requests to CXC are becoming more cross-cutting and focused on long-term transitions, creating new opportunities to support policymaking across government.

If you require the report in an alternative format, such as a Word document, please contact info@climatexchange.org.uk or 0131 651 4783.

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