Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets)(Scotland) Bill: child rights and wellbeing impact assessment

1. Introduction

Type of proposal: Bill

Decision of a strategic nature relating to the rights and wellbeing of children: No

The Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Bill (herein ‘the Bill’) will amend existing climate legislation to establish a more flexible statutory emissions reduction target framework based on carbon budgets. This framework will be responsive to the uncertainty of long-term decarbonisation policy planning as well as reflective of the latest projected decarbonisation pathways as Scotland approaches its net zero target of 2045.

The objective of the Bill is to amend the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 (“the 2009 Act”), in response to the Climate Change Committee’s (CCC’s) advice that our interim emissions reduction target for 2030 is beyond what can be achieved and make related amendments.

The Bill will seek to amend existing climate change legislation to establish a carbon budget approach to emissions reduction target setting and thus establish a more flexible statutory target framework that is receptive to both the non-linear realities of long-term decarbonisation policy planning and reflects the latest advice from the CCC. The Bill itself will not seek to set carbon budget levels, but enable these to be established through secondary legislation, expected to be developed with anticipated analysis and advice from the CCC in early 2025.

The Bill will also seek to adjust the timing of the next Climate Change Plan (CCP) so that a new Plan can be published as soon as reasonably practicable after carbon budgets have been set. The statutory target of net zero emissions by 2045 will not be changed.

Start date of proposal’s development: March 2024

Start date of CRWIA process: April 2024