SIC to help the islanders practice sustainibility and raise awareness on climate change
SIC is set to raise climate change awarness through their upcoming eventPublished:10:00, 20 July 2026Wild dolphin in playful mood while hunting for migrating Atlantic Scottish salmon in the Moray Firth in the. . .
SIC is set to raise climate change awarness through their upcoming eventPublished:10:00, 20 July 2026Wild dolphin in playful mood while hunting for migrating Atlantic Scottish salmon in the Moray Firth in the Scottish Highland. . Shetland Islands Council to address “climate change from a Shetland perspective” and raise awareness on sustainable living. SIC is set to organise this year’s Climate Change Festival on 5th september. Last year’s climate change event was attended by more than 400 people. The event will have different themes like, home efficiency and food security. “We have workshops that are going to be happening again throughout the day, and there'll be a big focus on what communities are doing”, said Claire Ferguson, team leader of the council’s climate strategy team. Moreover, Sandwick Development Company and Repair Cafe will also be featuring at the event. Meanwhile, current carbon emissions and climate change are impacting the entire world. For Shetland, this could be extreme weather events like frequent storm periods and wetter winters. Unlike the rest of the world, where heat and drought have become increasingly common, Shetland is more likely to experience higher levels of intense periods of rainfall, kind of wetter winters. ”Being a remote island, this could seriously disrupt the infrastructure and transport in Shetland, making it tougher to get food supplies and essentials. Ms Ferguson also shared the key questions which the council we will be addressing during the event :- What is climate change from a Shetland perspective?- What can I do in my community to help?- What can I do at home?- Are business and employment opportunities available?SIC is currently working on two projects to assess and tackle climate change in the Islands. One of them is a climate risk assessment, which the council is doing across Shetland. This includes assessing the infrastructure to understand the high-risk areas, as flooding is a potential risk with the rise in sea levels. Ms Ferugson added: “Our roads are key to be able to access our assets. So, if we don't have the roads and if the roads are taken out of it anyway, then that will be a problem across Shetland. ”The other project is funded by the Scottish Government Climate Ready Regions, which will look at the climate risk and recommendations for short, medium and long term plans that we can put in place for the ZE3 postcode. “ 25 or 30 year timelines that you're looking at which can seem like a long time away but it's also not a long time away and some of the interventions that you want to put in place, we need to start looking at kind of relatively soon to be able to put in place something that is going to make a meaningful difference,” said Ms Ferguson. Do you want to respond to this article? If so, clickhereto submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.