Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Bill: island communities impact assessment

Island Communities Impact Assessment - Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Bill

Name of Policy: Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Bill

1. Objectives

The objective of the Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Bill (herein ‘the Bill’) is to amend the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009, 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 duties related to 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 Bill will maintain the statutory target of net zero emissions by 2045.

The provisions of the Bill will be limited to the amendment of the existing emissions reduction target framework. The Bill does not set emissions target levels or set out actions or policies that must be taken to deliver the emissions reductions required to meet those targets. It therefore will not have any direct impacts on island communities.

2. Data And Stakeholders

The provisions of the Bill are limited to establishing the statutory framework required for the implementation of emissions reduction targets using a carbon budget-based approach. This Bill will not set the levels of the carbon budgets, which will be established in subsequent secondary legislation; nor will it set out the policies and actions to deliver the emissions reductions required to meet carbon budgets. As such, the provisions of the Bill will not have any direct impact on Island Communities.

3. Consultation

The current emissions reduction target framework was introduced in the Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Act 2019. The impact assessments for the 2019 Act were conducted before the introduction of the Islands (Scotland) Act 2019. The potential impacts on people living in remote rural and island communities were considered as part of the joint impact assessment covering Equalities, Children’s Rights and Wellbeing and the Fairer Scotland Duty.

The impact assessment for the 2019 Act highlighted that people living in rural and island communities were particularly likely to be impacted by both climate change and the policies and actions required to reduce emissions to achieve emissions reductions target. It was identified that these potential impacts results were dependent on the package of policies and actions require to meet emissions reduction targets, which are defined in the strategic delivery frameworks of the Climate Change Plans, rather than in the provisions of the primary legislation.

The provisions of this Bill are limited to the introduction of the carbon budget-based target framework and amendment of the deadline for the next Climate Change Plan. The Bill will not set the levels of carbon budgets, but will enable these to be set via secondary legislation. The Bill will not set out the individual policies and actions that will be required to meet the carbon budgets. The recommendation of this assessment is that the potential impacts on island communities are considered as part of future impact assessments that will continue to be conducted on Climate Change Plans and individual policies and actions delivering emissions reductions where appropriate.

4. Assessment

The assessment of the Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Bill has not identified any impact of the provisions of the Bill on island communities.

As noted above, the provisions of the Bill are limited to establishing the statutory framework required for the implementation of emissions reduction targets using a carbon budget-based approach. This Bill will not set the levels of carbon budgets, which will be introduced through secondary legislation, or set out the policies and actions to deliver the emissions reductions required to meet those budgets. As such, there is no assessed impact for the provisions of the Bill on island communities.

The recommendation is that the potential impacts on island communities are considered as part of impact assessments that will continue to be conducted on Climate Change Plans and individual policies and actions delivering emissions reductions where appropriate.

The potential impacts of the provisions of the Bill on island communities will continue to be reviewed through the passage of the Bill.

5. Is A Full Island Communities Impact Assessment Required?

No, a full Island Communities Impact Assessment is not required. In preparing the ICIA, I have formed an opinion that our policy, strategy or service is not likely to have an effect on an island community which is significantly different from its effect on other communities (including other island communities).

The provisions of the Bill are limited to establishing the statutory framework required for the implementation of emissions reduction targets using a carbon budget-based approach. This Bill will not set the levels of carbon budgets, which will be introduced through secondary legislation, or set out the policies and actions to deliver the emissions reductions required to meet those budgets. As such, there is no assessed impact for the provisions of the Bill on island communities.

The recommendation is that assessments of the potential impacts on island communities continue to be conducted on Climate Change Plans and individual policies and actions delivering emissions reductions where appropriate.

ICIA authorised by: Philip Raines

Position: Joint Deputy Director, Domestic Climate Change

Signature and date: Philip Raines - 21 August 2024