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Progress 5 min read

Scotland climate action hubs 2026: 24 local networks turn concern into projects

Scotland's 24 Climate Action Hubs are helping communities turn local concerns into projects, funding and practical action. Here is what the 2026 independent evaluation found.

Kieran Simpson Published 20 Jul 2026

Scotland now has 24 regional Climate Action Hubs, up from two pilots in 2021. An independent evaluation found that the network is helping local groups find partners, expertise and money for practical projects, although its national emissions impact remains much harder to measure.

In Nairn, a community consultation about coastal erosion developed into an adaptation project after the local hub connected organisers with flood and coastal specialists and helped them reach grant funding. In Perth and Kinross, a repair event grew into a region-wide programme. Elsewhere, hub-backed work has included climate-resilient planting, paint remanufacturing, community gardens, food projects and local energy planning.

This is the part of climate policy that national targets rarely describe. A neighbourhood group may know that flooding, high bills or waste is a problem, but not who can help, which fund is open or how to turn concern into a deliverable project. Scotland's hubs are intended to provide that missing local connection.

From two pilots to a network covering Scotland

The Scottish Government started the programme with two pathfinder hubs in 2021. By 2026, it had expanded to 24 regional organisations, each given room to respond to the geography and priorities of its area.

That flexibility produces very different work. A rural or island hub may spend more time on transport, coastal resilience and online access. An urban hub may support repair, community growing, warmer homes or neighbourhood energy. Across the network, the common offer includes small grants, training, events, practical advice, introductions and help for communities engaging with councils and national consultations.

What the evaluation checked	Finding
Network growth	Two pathfinder hubs in 2021 became a national network of 24 regional hubs in 2026.
Local connections	87% of 175 survey respondents agreed or strongly agreed that hubs had brought people together locally to act on climate change.
Understanding local risks	88% of 172 respondents said hubs had brought more attention to local climate issues and risks.
Additional project funding	Hub records identified more than £595,000 secured for community climate projects, including £350,000 from local authorities.
Evidence base	The independent review examined more than 300 documents, interviewed or held focus groups with 110 participants and surveyed 175 people.

The survey results are consistently positive. Eighty-seven per cent of respondents said the hubs had helped bring people together locally, while 88% said they had drawn more attention to climate issues and risks. Seventy-nine per cent expected hub activity to have a lasting effect.

Those numbers need a little care. Respondents included hub staff, volunteers, project participants and partner organisations, so this was not a representative poll of the Scottish public. It is better evidence of how people inside and around the programme experienced it than of national opinion.

Local knowledge becomes more valuable when it can reach help

The Nairn example captures the model clearly because residents and local organisations already understood the coastal erosion problem. Rather than inventing the concern, the hub helped the group reach relevant expertise and a funding route, allowing a consultation to move toward practical adaptation work.

Similar connections matter for smaller projects. Community groups often operate with volunteers, short funding windows and limited time for applications. A trusted local organisation that knows the council, funders and neighbouring groups can shorten the distance between an idea and action.

The evaluation found that hubs had secured more than £595,000 in additional funding for community projects, including £350,000 from local authorities. Among the awards it describes, five central-belt hubs secured £500,000 from Foundation Scotland for work including resilient planting, paint remanufacturing and a community-garden transformation.

Money is only part of the story. The network allows ideas to travel. Perth and Kinross expanded its Repair Fest from one event into a regional programme. Other hubs shared grant processes, adaptation resources and ways to make events accessible to people who could not travel or attend during standard working hours.

Participation widened beyond the usual climate audience

Three quarters of survey respondents agreed that the hubs had made climate action more equitable, diverse and inclusive. The evaluation describes practical measures behind that response: free or low-cost activities, online and in-person options, events held at different times and deliberate work with groups that have often been underrepresented.

In rural areas, streaming an event to another island or town could remove a lengthy journey. Elsewhere, lunchtime and evening sessions allowed people with different shifts or caring responsibilities to take part. Some interviewees also described less isolation and stronger social connections through regular group activities.

These are modest interventions, but they address a persistent weakness in climate delivery. A scheme that is technically open to everyone can still exclude people through travel, cost, timing or unfamiliar language. Local organisations are often better placed to notice and fix those barriers than a national programme working at arm's length.

The emissions result is still the missing number

The evaluation supports a positive conclusion about local capacity: more places now have an organisation able to connect people, support projects and carry lessons across a national network. It does not provide a robust total for greenhouse gas emissions avoided or resilience losses prevented.

That is partly because the work is so varied. A repair event, community energy plan, flood project and climate-literacy workshop do not share one simple unit of impact. Monitoring also differs between hubs, and many benefits take time to appear.

The next evaluation will be stronger if it can follow more projects from first conversation to finished work, then report outcomes that fit each activity: items repaired, household costs reduced, renewable capacity installed, land adapted, funds secured or people protected. National carbon totals should only be added where the underlying measurement is sound.

For now, Scotland has moved beyond two experiments. It has a local climate network covering the country, and the first national evaluation suggests those organisations are helping communities get further than they would alone. The hubs have not solved the measurement problem, but they have made practical climate help easier to find.

See the Progress hub for more measured changes. The UK Local Power Plan guide explains the finance and ownership route for community energy, while UK climate adaptation market covers the firms and services behind resilience work. For the wider public-participation picture, read UK environmental behaviour progress.

Sources

Data checked

Checked on 20 July 2026 against the independent Climate Action Hubs evaluation and the Scottish Government funding record updated on 17 July 2026. Review when a later national evaluation, annual monitoring release or funding update changes the network size, participation findings, project totals or evidence of measured outcomes.

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