On 18 April 2024 the Scottish Government announced plans to make ‘minor’ changes to climate change legislation, and a climate change policy package which includes 19 actions across policy areas including transport and land use.
In announcing the proposed changes and accompanying policy package, the Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, New Zero, and Energy, Màiri McAllan MSP said:
“Those policies sit alongside extensive on-going work and will be built on through our next climate change plan and our green industrial strategy. With that ambitious new package, I will allow there to be no doubt about the seriousness with which the Government treats the climate and nature crises and about our readiness to act to deliver.”
This blog is part of a series of publications from SPICe, and will look at the context for this announcement and the policy contained within the package announced on 18 April. Future blogs will explore the implications around climate targets and for climate legislation in more detail – including public and other engagement before this announcement, and the proposal to bring forward legislation.
This blog focuses on the policy commitments made in the policy package, setting them in the context of previous Scottish Government actions and announcements.
This is a longer blog than normal, so we have added a contents popout below to help with navigation:
Background – Scotland’s climate legislation
The Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Act 2019 committed Scottish Ministers to ensuring that Scotland’s net annual greenhouse gas emissions, compared with those in 1990, were:
- 56% lower in 2020.
- 75% lower in 2030.
- 100% lower in 2045 (also known as ‘net-zero’).
The Act also required Scottish Ministers to set annually reducing emission targets for each year between these three major target years.
In eight of the last twelve years, annual climate targets have been missed, including in 2021 when emissions bounced back from Covid related lows. The 2020 target was met, with a 59% reduction in emissions, however the Climate Change Committee (CCC) noted in its Scottish Emissions Targets – first five yearly review, published in December 2022, that:
“The fall in emissions in 2020 was largely due to travel restrictions during the COVID19 pandemic, without which it is unlikely the target would have been met.”
This document also noted that:
“Scotland’s emissions reduction targets are amongst the most stretching in the world and the Scottish Government has placed a welcome focus on a fair and just transition. Key milestones are ambitious, but a clear delivery plan on how they will be achieved is still missing and there is no quantification of how policies combine to give the emissions reduction required to meet Scotland’s targets.”
The current Climate Change Plan dates from 2018, as updated by the 2020 Climate Change Plan Update.
Challenges meeting climate targets in particular for 2030 – recent reports
The announcements made on 18 April 2024 follow several recent reports which illustrated the challenges of meeting the existing 2030 interim targets of reducing emissions by 75% compared to the 1990 baseline.
- The CCC released a Progress in reducing emission in Scotland – 2023 Report to Parliament on 20 March 2024. Progress Reports for Scotland are produced in accordance with the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 and have been published every year from 2012 – 2022. Some of the key messages from the report included that achievement of the 2030 target was now ‘beyond what is credible’ and that ‘overall policies and plans in Scotland fall far short of what is needed to achieve the legal targets’ (SPICe bold).
- On 14 March 2024 the Scottish Fiscal Commission (SFC) published its second Fiscal Sustainability Report, which explores how climate change could affect the Scottish Government’s fiscal sustainability and considers the potential effects on Scottish public finances from damage created by climate change, the costs of adapting to a changing environment and taking action to meet Scotland’s statutory emissions targets to reach net-zero by 2045. The SFC consider how these challenges will interact with the fiscal framework. The report also set out the data and information needed from the Scottish and UK Governments to produce projections related to climate change funding and spending
- In April 2023, Audit Scotland published a report on the Scottish Government’s governance and risk management arrangements for net zero targets and adaptation outcomes. The report found that the Scottish Government had improved its governance since the climate emergency was declared in 2019, but that there were opportunities to improve this further including through workforce planning for the Director General for Net Zero area, more consistent and frequent reporting, and further development of climate change risk management arrangements.
The new climate policy package – new commitments?
The following sections summarise the commitments in the policy package and briefly set them in the context of previous announcements, existing Scottish Government policies, ongoing work and commitments.
Transport
Route map to 20% reduction in car kilometres: Transport Scotland will publish a second route map for a 20% reduction in the distance travelled by car, from a 2019 baseline, by 2030 – that is an annual reduction of 7.34 billion car kilometres. The route map will include a timeline for implementing demand management measures.
This commitment to reduce car travel was first made in the December 2020 Climate Change Plan Update, with a first Route map to achieve a 20 per cent reduction in car kilometres by 2030 published in January 2022. In this, the Scottish Government recognised the need for additional policies which directly discourage or prevent car use. It committed to commissioning research on the subject during 2022, which would then influence a Car Demand Management Framework to be published in 2025.
The distance travelled by car and taxi traffic on Scotland’s roads reduced by 6.3% between 2019 and 2022, although this fall is largely due to a reduction in travel linked to the coronavirus pandemic. Preliminary UK-wide road traffic figures show a 2.3% increase in traffic during the period October 2022 to September 2023, continuing the post-coronavirus rebound in road traffic.
Electric vehicle charge points: The Scottish Government will publish a new route map for the delivery of approximately 24,000 additional electric vehicle charge points by 2030, using a mix of public and private finance.
As context to this part of the announcement, Transport Scotland sets out its current policy on the development of public electric vehicle charge points in A new vision for electric vehicle charging infrastructure in Scotland. The main vehicle for delivering this policy is the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund, jointly developed and managed by Transport Scotland and the Scottish Futures Trust. This aims to deliver £60m of investment between 2022-23 and 2025-26, with the aim of increasing the size of Scotland’s public charging network from around 4,600 to at least 6,000 charge points. The Scottish Government will invest up to £30m over this period, with the intention of levering in another £30m of private sector investment. To date, no new electric vehicle charge points have been delivered through this fund, although local authorities are in the process of developing Electric Vehicle Strategy and Delivery Plans. The Scottish Government advises that the programme will largely move to procurement and delivery during the current financial year.
Electric vans and light good vehicles: The Scottish Government is committed to introducing measures to accelerate the switch from petrol or diesel powered vans to zero emission vehicles.
The Scottish Government provides advice and financial support, such as interest free loans for vehicle purchase and grants towards the installation of electric vehicle charge points, for businesses and public sector organisations wishing to switch to zero emission vans and other light goods vehicles.
Integrated public transport ticketing: The Scottish Government commits to developing a national integrated public transport ticketing scheme for Scotland. The first step being the publication of a new smart ticketing delivery strategy in 2024, alongside the business case for introducing a national and/or regional integrated fare structures.
As context, the Scottish Government has previously announced the creation of a national integrated ticketing scheme, dubbed the ‘Saltire Card’, and launched by then Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP, on 1 October 2012 with the claim that:
“The Saltire Card will be a hugely exciting development for transport in Scotland and will help us achieve a truly world-class public transport network. It will make it easier, more attractive and possibly cheaper for people to get around using public transport and will help further connect our cities.”
This vision has not been realised to date.
Transport networks: The Scottish Government will set out its transport infrastructure investment priorities in the Strategic Transport Projects Review 2 (STPR2) delivery plan.
STPR2 sets out the Scottish Government’s long-term plans for transport infrastructure investment through 45 separate projects or programmes. Transport Scotland had already committed to the publication of the STPR2 delivery plan in its National Transport Strategy: Third Annual Delivery Plan, published on 8 December 2023.
Air Passenger Duty/Air Departure Tax: The power to legislate for air departure tax in Scotland was devolved as part of the Scotland Act 2016. The Scottish Government promoted a Bill, which became the Air Departure Tax (Scotland) Act 2017, that would have replaced the existing Air Passenger Duty (APD) regime for flights departing from Scotland. The aim being to reduce the APD tax burden by 50% from April 2018 and to abolish the tax completely, when resources allow, to help “…generate new direct air routes, sustain existing routes and increase inbound tourism”. The Scottish Government deferred the introduction of ADT in April 2019, until issues regarding the tax exemption for flights departing Highlands and Islands airports could be resolved.
In the 2024/25 Budget, the Scottish Government stated that it remains:
“committed to introduce ADT in a way that protects Highlands and Islands connectivity and complies with the UK Government’s subsidy control regime”
The Scottish Government now pledge to set out the high level principles of ADT and how this can support emission reductions, with ‘more detailed policy development as soon as possible’.
Land Use and Agriculture
Future agricultural support: The Scottish Government has published plans for a new four-tier framework for support for agriculture and land management, to replace the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy. This new framework and information on the purpose of the different tiers was first announced as part of the Scottish Government’s consultation on the Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill in August 2022, and was followed by an Agricultural Reform Route Map with more information, first published in February 2023. Further background on agricultural reform can be found in a recent SPICe briefing.
Tier 1 is the most entry-level form of financial support for agriculture, universally accessible to all who meet certain baseline environment and efficiency standards. The climate change policy package notes that Tier 2 of the new framework “will be important for delivering outcomes for climate and nature”. Tier 2 is described in the Agricultural Reform Route Map as an “enhanced level direct payment”, a:
“…universally accessible payment that supplements [the Tier 1 entry level basic payment]. This is for applicants delivering Base requirements and undertaking further activity that delivers outcomes for nature and climate improvement, including recognition of wider land management.”
The policy package reiterated an announcement made in February 2024 that 70% of funding for agriculture will be allocated to Tiers 1 and 2. In new information, the Scottish Government also announced that further information on how the funding will be split between Tiers 1 and 2 will be available in June.
The funding split is a key topic of interest when it comes to designing a new agricultural support system and the previous announcement on the overall allocation to Tiers 1 and 2 generated debate between stakeholders. The National Farmers Union Scotland, welcomed the announcement that 70% of the overall funding envelope for land management would be allocated to Tiers 1 and 2, putting farming and crofting “at the heart of a new agricultural policy” with universally accessible funding. Environmental stakeholders, however, have suggested that this is a ‘business as usual’ approach, with organisations arguing that more funding needs to go into the targeted climate and nature actions supported through Tier 3, and the complementary measures such as advice, training, and monitoring delivered through Tier 4.
Conditionality for agricultural support from 2025: The policy package reiterated a commitment to attach new conditions for receiving agricultural support from 2025. Additional ‘conditionality’ on farm payments has been a key pillar of the Scottish Government’s agricultural reform plans for some time. It was a new policy proposal in the Climate Change Plan Update published in December 2020. At the time the commitment was to:
“introduce environmental conditionality in the agriculture sector from 2021 via implementation of the Beef Suckler Climate Report and more widely from 2022 through the review of existing CAP Greening, which will extend the requirements to all farmers and crofters to undertake environmental actions.”
‘Whole farm plans’, were announced as part of the publication of the Agricultural Reform Route Map in February 2023, though the policy package announcement included new details on the content and timing of some requirements, including that “proportionate carbon audits” will be required by all farms receiving public support by 2028 “at the latest”.
Methane suppressing feed products: The Scottish Government announced a “pilot scheme with some Scottish farms to establish future appropriate uptake of methane supressing feed products/additives” as part of the climate change policy package. Methane suppressing feed products or additives aim to reduce the amount of methane emitted by livestock. The aim is to “establish how future support can recognise uptake of these products as well as encouraging pioneering Scottish dairy farms to engage with the potential of these products”. The announcement notes that methane suppressors formed part of an indicative list of measures which farmers may be asked to take in the future, published in the Agricultural Reform Route Map, and that the pilots will help to establish how the “potential of this technology can be harnessed”.
This builds on previous research commissioned by the Scottish Government on methane-suppressing additives published in 2021 and further research produced by SRUC as part of the Scottish Government’s strategic research programme in 2022.
Regional Land Use Partnerships: The policy package states that:
“The Scottish Government will establish Regional Land Use Partnerships (RLUPs) as an initiative with coverage across Scotland by the end of the next Parliamentary term. This is beginning with the recruitment of up to three new areas over the next year, recognising successful partnership must be driven by communities from the bottom up”.
An original project piloting the development of ‘Regional Land Use Frameworks’ was established in the Borders and Aberdeenshire from 2013-2015. Regional Land Use Partnerships (RLUPs) have subsequently been trialled through five pilots since 2021. The partnerships aim to include a range of land managers and stakeholders to enable inclusive land use, supporting both net zero and nature recovery goals. The Land Use Strategy 2021-2026 committed that each pilot would develop its own Regional Land Use Framework by 2023.
The 2021 Bute House Agreement already set out a commitment that, if the pilots meet expectations and show that they have taken a democratic, local approach, the Scottish Government will develop plans for a second phase from 2023, “aiming for further roll out across the country before the future rural support scheme is established”. The policy package commitment, whilst primed by the Bute House Agreement, confirms that this second phase will take place, with a tangible commitment to three new areas. There is currently no information on the scale of or location of these new areas, or what long-term funding arrangements might be for RLUPs in future.
Partial re-wetting: Degraded peatlands are often in a drier state than they should be and are restored using interventions which ‘re-wet’ the ground. The policy package made a commitment to investigate how ‘partial re-wetting’ of peatlands can co-exist with continued agricultural activity, and with access to agricultural support by investing up to £1m in pilot partial rewetting projects. The Scottish Government committed to further research on costs and benefits of this approach, and research into the extent, depth and quality of peat under grassland. The overall aim is to inform improved incentives for land managers to manage peatland from 2026.
This appears to be a new commitment, and links into the overall plans to develop a new agricultural support framework discussed above, as well as overall peatland restoration plans.
National Deer Management Scheme: The policy package states that the Scottish Government will “build on the current Cairngorms Deer Pilot to develop a national scheme which incentivises increased management and investment in the venison supply chain”. The Cairngorms community deer management pilot started in 2023 and offers local residents the opportunity to learn deer management skills and, when fully trained and qualified, free access to NatureScot’s Creag Meagaidh National Nature Reserve (NNR) to shoot deer in season for their own consumption. The project aims to support recommendations from the 2019 independent Deer Working Group report, which recognised the benefits of more local consumption of wild venison, stating:
“That rate of local consumption appears low compared to some other European countries. However, the Group considers that the increased level of local consumption in Scotland has many attributes that are in the public interest if the food is safe (for example: potentially a better price for suppliers; added value retained locally in rural areas; healthy type of meat; local produce for residents and visitors; potentially lower carbon footprint than livestock meat; fewer travel miles, etc.).”
The Scottish Government also consulted in January 2024 on regulatory changes aimed at supporting the wild venison market, acting on other recommendations of the Group.
The Scottish Government has already indicated that the pilot will be rolled out further. Answering a question in the Scottish Parliament on 21 February 2024 regarding the potential roll-out of the Cairngorms pilot, which noted community models of deer management are common in many European countries, the Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity said:
“I am pleased with the result of the pilot scheme on community-led deer management, I am excited about the work that is under way in the Cairngorms national park and I look forward to expanding the programme, so that we can have more community benefits from our deer management plans.”
The policy package re-affirms this commitment and expands on it through committing specifically to a new “national scheme”, although broadly in line with existing work in response to the Deer Working Group.
Consultation on options for a carbon land tax: The Scottish Government pledge to consult on options for a carbon tax on larger landholdings in summer 2024. This builds on a pledge made in the 2024-25 Budget, where the Scottish Government stated that:
“In 2024-25, the Scottish Government will work with our partners in COSLA and local government, and other stakeholders, to examine how further policy measures – regulatory and fiscal – can support existing policies and interventions to improve a wide range of land management outcomes, including the restoration of peatlands and the creation of more woodlands. This will also include consideration of a proposal for a Carbon Emissions Land Tax, as has been suggested by the John Muir Trust.”
In March 2024 the John Muir Trust published an updated proposal for a carbon emissions land tax in Scotland. The proposal includes two models for the tax; the first being a banded system to differentiate land holdings based on the quantity of greenhouse gases realised from their habitats. The second model proposed a fixed rate of tax per hectare which varies depending on different land types, with rebates applied depending on management and condition to encourage emission reductions. The John Muir Trust state that by 2040 Scotland could remove 6 million tonnes of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere annually.
Other policy areas
Green Heat Finance Taskforce: The Scottish Government are considering the recommendation from the Green Heat Finance Taskforce (GHFT) to publish analysis of how non-domestic rates relief can better support climate ambitions.
The formation of a GFHT was announced in the Heat in Buildings Strategy in 2021 and the first meeting was in February 2022. The Taskforce’s Terms of Reference set out that there should be ‘interim findings provided by March 2023’ with a ‘final report and recommendations in September 2023’.
The first output from the GFHT was published on 22 November 2023, with the aim ‘to stimulate discussion around how best to develop the range of financing options that we see as being important in delivering the significant transformation of heating in buildings’. A Part 2 report will focus on ‘place-based mechanisms and larger scale financing options for energy efficiency and zero direct emissions heating systems’. The Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants’ Rights wrote to the Net Zero Committee in November 2023 stating that the Scottish Government would formally respond to the recommendations of the Part 1 report once the Part 2 report is published this year.
Just Transition Plans (JTP): The Scottish Government have already published a draft just transition plan and energy strategy (January 2023). JTPs for three other sectors (agriculture and land use, buildings and construction, and transport) were expected to be published prior to the Climate Change Plan. The Scottish Government have already committed to produce a place-based plan for the Grangemouth area, which was the subject of an enquiry in the Economy and Fair Work Committee. The Scottish Government have now committed to produce a second place based JTP for Mossmorran once the Grangemouth plan is finished. At an Economy and Fair Work Committee evidence session in December 2023, the then Cabinet Secretary stated that the Scottish Government intended to publish the Grangemouth Just Transition Plan in Spring 2024.
Intra-UK cooperation: The Scottish Government has proposed to establish a four-nation climate response group, with a remit to include climate financing, including engaging with the issues identified in the Scottish Fiscal Commission report with respect to reserved and devolved powers.
Scottish Government staffing: The Scottish Government state that its Executive Team will now lead ‘explicit and detailed’ consideration of the staffing needs to take forward the climate change policy package, and that this will include consideration of options for secondment or short-term use of external expertise. The Scottish Government’s Global Climate Emergency Programme Board will have a formal advisory role on the climate impact of proposals in the Programme for Government and the Scottish Budget.
In their report published in March 2023 How the Scottish Government is set up to deliver on their climate change goals Audit Scotland noted that ‘There has been no workforce plan in place for the DG Net Zero area since it was established in November 2021, although one is expected in spring 2023.’ Audit Scotland recommended that the Government ‘Ensure that a Director General Net Zero workforce plan is in place by spring 2023, which takes sufficient account of the number of staff and skills required to deliver on its climate change responsibilities.’
Net Zero Assessment: The Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government Joint Budget Review Group proposed that a net zero test be established, to be applied at an early stage in the policy development cycle. This will filter policy, identifying those
with a high impact (from a climate perspective), and lead to more precise
calculations of the impact of policy decisions on the climate. In the budget session in the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee earlier this year the Cabinet Secretary stated: In the budget session in the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee earlier this year the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Net Zero and Just Transition stated:
“The Deputy First Minister and I work on this jointly. Officials in my team have been working with officials in the chief economist’s directorate, and they are looking to bottom out a methodology. Our expectation is that we will pilot a launch on targeted policies in the spring, with the hope of rolling that out by the end of 2024”
This climate policy package reiterates that this will be rolled out starting from the end of 2024, but notes that this will be a ‘full roll out’.
Climate assembly successor: The Scottish Government has pledged to develop a new assembly/ participative process, which will include a focus on developing the public understanding of the implications of the transition to net zero for households and businesses.
This proposal follows on from Scotland’s Climate Assembly in 2021, and the most recent Scottish Parliament led People’s Panel on Climate Engagement.
Many of the proposals in this package appear to have been previously discussed, proposed or committed to in one form or another. Further detail has been provided in some areas e.g. in relation to new RLUPs, and the commitment to a JTP at Mossmorran is new, if not wholly unexpected. However in relation to transport (Scotland’s most polluting sector), there is a commitment to two new routemaps, a delivery strategy and a delivery plan. The actual impact of all of these commitments to emissions reductions appears uncertain.
Alan Rehfisch, Alasdair Reid, Alexa Morrison, Andrew Feeney-Seale, Anna Brand, Dan Barlow, Graeme Cook, Niall Kerr and Damon Davies, SPICe Research
Cover image: “Warming Stripes“, Prof. Ed Hawkins, University of Reading, CC by Deed 4.0