Reducing greenhouse gas emissions
Scotland’s Climate Change Plan
We publish a statutory strategic delivery plan for meeting our emissions reduction targets at least every 5 years. We updated our 2018 Climate Change Plan in December 2020 in response to the global climate emergency. The Climate Change Plan update sets out a pathway to reduce Scotland’s emissions over the period to 2032.
Work is underway on development of the next climate change plan, for 2026 to 2040. This will be published in draft following receipt of advice from the Climate Change Committee, and Carbon Budget levels being set through secondary legislation.
The Plan update in December 2020 has also acted as a key strategic document on Scotland’s green economic recovery from COVID-19 to set a pathway foremissions reduction in a way that prioritises economic, social and environmental wellbeing.
The Climate Change Plan update sets out bold actions, including the direction of changes which are needed in our wider economy and society to capitalise on the opportunities presented by net zero.Achieving net zero will not be easy, and will need to be a truly national endeavour with business, communities, and individuals contributing fully. It will require us to be innovative, utilising new and exciting technologies and learning by doing.
The Climate Change Plan update included a number of transformational commitments to reduce emissions and ensure a green recovery. For example:
- £1.6 billion for heat decarbonisation over the course of this Parliament
- a commitment to plant 18,000 hectares of new woodland each year by 2024
- a commitment to restore at least 250,000 hectares of peatland by 2030
- a £100 million Green Jobs Fund, to provide investment to support low-carbon businesses, including the creation of a Green Workforce Academy
- a £180 million Emerging Energy Technologies Fund to support the development of hydrogen and CCS and add impetus to the development of Negative Emissions Technologies
- an aim to reduce the number of kilometres travelled by car by 20% by 2030
- a commitment to phase out the need for new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030
- a £120 million investment in Zero Emissions Buses, driving forward a fully decarbonised future for Scotland’s bus fleet and supporting the Scottish supply chain
- an investment of £50 million to create Active Freeways, providing a sustainable link between our towns, cities and some of our most beloved national landmarks
The first, second, third and fourth annual statutory monitoring reports provide information on progress against the updated Climate Change Plan, as required by the 2019 Act, and were published in May 2021,May 2022, May 2023 and May 2024 respectively.
Scotland’s climate change legislation
In response to the international Paris Agreement, the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 was amended by the Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Act 2019, increasing the ambition of Scotland’s emissions reduction targets to net zero by 2045.
Scotland’s net zero emissions target date of 2045 is ahead of many other countries, including the UK whose target is to reach net zero by 2050.
In November 2024, the Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets)(Scotland) Act 2024 came into force which introduced the framework for a carbon budget-based approach for setting emissions reduction targets up to 2045.
Carbon budgets, which cover a five-year period, provide a more reliable and consistent framework for assessing sustained progress in the actions and policies that contribute to ensuring that we achieve Net Zero emissions by 2045.
The Act also amended the timescales for the next Climate Change Plan (“CCP”) to reflect the process for development of the new carbon budget framework.
The target of net zero emissions by 2045 remains, as does the legal commitment to our just transition principles.
Scotland’s targets for emissions reduction are economy-wide; including all territorial greenhouse gas emissions and a fair share of those from international aviation and shipping, as well as territorial removals (including from the land use sectors). The statutory framework sets a default position that the targets are to be met through domestic action alone, without any use of international offset credits.
The methods used to measure emissions and removals for the purpose of assessing progress to the targets are based on international carbon reporting practice. The Scottish Government publishes annual reports on its emissions reductions and its progress towards the policies and actions within the Climate Change Plan.
The levels of all of Scotland’s targets are regularly reviewed following advice from the independent Climate Change Committee. The Committee’s first five-yearly review of Scottish emissions targets was published in December 2022.
Scottish carbon budget targets
To help ensure delivery of the net zero by 2045 target, Scotland’s climate change legislation also includes carbon budget target framework, requiring that every year between 2026 ad 2045, the net-zero emissions target year, is covered by a budget.
The legislation requires that Ministers take into account the most up-to-date advice from the Climate Change Committee (“CCC”) before finalising their preparation of regulations to set carbon budget levels. Carbon budget regulations will then be brought forward within three months of the CCC advice having been received.
Reporting on progress to targets
An annual report on emissions reduction sets out the percentage by which the net Scottish emissions account for the year is lower than the baseline. The latest report for the 2022 target year was published in June 2024.
A report on each emissions reduction target will be published following each period covered by a Scottish carbon budget, which will state whether the Scottish carbon budget target arising from that budget has been met.
The UK Climate Change Committee (CCC) also publishes annual assessments of Scotland’s progress in reducing emissions, which can be found on its website.
Our response to their latest progress report on reducing emissions was published in September 2024.
Carbon assessment of Budget proposals
For each year's annual Scottish Government Budget on finance we publish an accompanying high-level carbon assessment which estimates how government spending plans will impact on emissions. View carbon assessments within the greenhouse gas estimation statistics.
Just Transition
Our climate legislation embeds the principles of a Just Transition and we have an independent body, the Just Transition Commission (JTC), to advise and scrutinise the way we are delivering on this.
Achieving net zero by 2045 means transformation for the way we live, work and do business. This creates opportunities as well as challenges. As we make the transition, the Scottish Government is determined that our country will seize those opportunities and meet those challenges in a way that is fair and just.
When we talk about a just transition, it means making sure that the costs and benefits of this transformation are distributed fairly. It means using this period of change to address existing inequalities and improve people’s wellbeing, for example, through measures that promote healthier lifestyles. And it means ensuring that, as we work towards net zero, no worker, business or community is left behind.
These are ambitious aims, and we know that achieving them will require careful strategic planning. Scotland’s Just Transition Commission has emphasised the importance of producing long term plans, which can be developed and refined, as we make our way towards 2045.
Our response to the early work of the Just Transition Commission set out a National Just Transition planning framework and committed to developing plans for our key sectors and regions. We began with our draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan.
Other draft sectoral plans are following:
- land use and agriculture
- transport
- built environment
- construction
These plans will provide greater certainty for businesses and communities on what the journey to net zero means in practice, supporting investment decisions in net zero opportunities.
All our just transition planning activity must contribute towards achieving our set of National Just Transition Outcomes, outlined in the National Just Transition Planning Framework.
Our Just Transition Fund (JTF) is a £500 million ten-year commitment that will support projects in the North East and Moray which contribute towards the region’s transition to net zero.
The Fund was announced in recognition of the particular need to diversify the regional economy away from carbon-intensive industries and to capitalise on the opportunities, including jobs and prosperity, that the transition to net zero will bring. The Fund has allocated £75 million to date, supporting projects and communities across the North East and Moray to create jobs, support innovation, and secure the highly skilled workforce of the future.
Meeting our ambition for a net zero, fairer Scotland will only be possible as a shared national endeavour and social engagement iscrucial. We are committed to co-designing our plans with those most likely to be negatively impacted. The development of our plans is being informed by the Just Transition Commission, businesses, communities, workers and their trade unions across Scotland.
We supported this engagement through establishing an independent Citizens’ Assembly on climate change (December 2021) and continue to do so via initiatives such as the Climate Engagement Fund. Alongside the Climate Change Plan update we also published a public engagement strategy for climate change (September 2021). This marks a new chapter in our people-centred approach to climate change policy.
Read more on Just Transition.