Jo Kerr & Jonny Casey On Climate-Proofing Scotland

Scotland is a beautiful, wild, and dynamic country.

It’s also one of many facing a barrage of climate risks that, if left unchecked, threaten to harm its people and hobble its economy over time.

Verture is working to prevent this. The Scottish charity — formerly known as Sniffer — leverages cross-sector, cross-community collaborations to build climate resilience up and down the country.

They’ve got their work cut out for them.

Scotland is dealing with higher winter rainfall, an increasing number of damaging wind storms, more heat extremes, worsening drought risks…. the list goes on.

In this episode, Verture CEO Jo Kerr and Head of Climate Ready Leadership Jonny Casey talk us through this growing climate risk exposure and describe how the charity is preparing Scotland’s population and economy to meet a more dangerous future.

They unpack Verture’s experience working with multiple levels of government and a mishmash of stakeholders to support enduring regional adaptation partnerships — like Climate Ready Clyde and Highland Adapts —that promote local ownership and community buy-in.

Then, Jo explains the five core principles that drive Verture’s collaborations, from place-based design to just resilience, while Jonny reflects on the role private finance and technology can play in supporting public sector efforts to build system-wide resilience.

For those eager to learn how a leading non-profit is driving climate resilience at the local, regional, and national scale — this is the episode for you.

Listen below, download from the Podcasts page on Climate Proof, or tune in via Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

We talk about:

👉 How ‘Sniffer’ became ‘Verture’ and what the change says about the charity’s mission around climate resilience, justice, and systems-level change across Scotland and beyond

👉 The accelerating climate risks facing Scotland, from intensified winter rainfall and coastal erosion to heatwaves and rural drought, and how they are putting the country’s aging infrastructure under strain

👉 Verture’s model for regional adaptation partnerships, and how programs like Climate Ready Clyde and Highland Adapts foster collaboration between local authorities, public agencies, and communities

👉 On-the-ground examples of adaptation — and maladaptation — in action

👉 Scotland’s emerging adaptation economy, and how pension funds and infrastructure operators are recognizing resilience as a strategic priority

Thanks for listening!

Louie Woodall
Editor