Cleaner Air for Scotland 2 - Towards a Better Place for Everyone

10. Further Progress Review

194. Air pollution is a complex multi-dimensional issue. Whilst good progress has been made, a lot remains to be done with, in some cases, potentially significant financial and societal implications. The costs of not taking further action will continue to impact us all, however, in terms of negative health impacts, congestion, public safety, loss of amenity, climate change and a failure to maximise the potential for better quality of life and ultimately improved economic performance. Such failure will only serve to further exacerbate health inequalities and overall risks to public health for much of the population, besides having wider implications for efforts to tackle the global climate emergency.

195. For these reasons it is important that, whilst focusing on delivery of CAFS 2 over the short- to medium-term, we must also have an eye on the bigger picture and identification of additional priorities in the coming decades. There are two elements to this; refinement and retargeting of actions and policies as new evidence on the health and environmental impacts of poor air quality comes to light, and continued alignment with other long-term policies, notably the commitment to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045. As with the original strategy, CAFS 2 will therefore have a five year life cycle.

Actions

We will:

• Initiate a review on progress with implementing CAFS 2 during 2024, with a view to having a further version of Scotland's air quality strategy in place by the end of 2025.

Impact Assessments

196. Ensuring that there are no negative equalities or business impacts from this strategy is a key part of its implementation. Therefore, an Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) and a Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) have been prepared to accompany the strategy. These documents examine where possible inequalities and business impacts could occur, and will help us ensure that any negative impacts will be avoided. Any regulations which follow on to support the actions in CAFS 2 will be required to undergo further impact assessments.