Climate Change Plan: third report on proposals and policies - written statement

Sector Ambition

Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee

1. The Committee recommended that clarity should be provided in the final Plan that over or under performance in a sector will not impact on the carbon envelopes or expectations of other sectors. (214)

• The Plan takes a whole-system approach to emissions reductions, reflecting the cross sector nature of greenhouse gas emissions. This approach calculates the most cost effective route to our emissions targets and provides flexibility to respond to evolving circumstances, such as future technological advances. Performance of sectors will be considered within this wider system. The monitoring framework will help us track whether policies are having the desired effect and to adjust our approach as circumstances inevitably change over time. Any sector over performance that leads to the overall targets being outperformed would represent a bonus, as the statutory requirements do not allow for this to be banked against future targets.
• The final pathway has been developed in light of recommendations by the Scottish Parliament, engagement with stakeholders, data revisions and new modelling, and new policies and proposals. The combined impact of these changes has resulted in a plan that addresses the key concerns of stakeholders, particularly around the practical challenge of decarbonising heat, whilst ensuring the overall climate change targets are achieved.

2. The Committee recommended that the final Plan should provide further information explaining the reasons why the particular emission envelopes were arrived at, the range of policy outcomes that were considered and dismissed, the reason for this and clear information on the expected emissions impact associated with each policy and proposal, both considered and eventually included. (178, 188)

• The emission reduction pathway, and associated policies and proposals set out in the Plan have been agreed by Scottish Ministers as the most beneficial to Scotland. The emissions envelopes and the pathway are different to those in the draft Plan. The final pathway has been developed in light of recommendations by the Scottish Parliament, engagement with stakeholders, data revisions and new modelling, and new policies and proposals (for example, transport measures in the Programme for Government 2017- 2018).

Employment, Jobs and Fair Work Committee

1. The Committee noted that emission reduction requirements for electricity and the residential sector are particularly ambitious. The Committee asked the Scottish Government to provide it with information regarding what discussions took place to balance practical considerations on delivery, costs and disruption across the sectors to arrive at the proposed emission reductions across the sectors. (41)

• Since the draft Plan was published, we have taken into account the advice of both Parliament and the Committee on Climate Change, and have also updated the assumptions feeding into the TIMES model to reflect the latest data as well as make other improvements, such as expanding the range of residential conservation measures. Further detail on these updates is contained in the Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform's letter to the ECCLR Committee on 23 January 2018^[11]. As a result, the amount of emissions reductions required in the Buildings and Electricity sectors has been reduced, requiring a slower, yet still very ambitious, transition to low carbon heat and renewable electricity generation.

Environment Climate Change and Land Reform Committee, Employment, Jobs and Fair Work Committee, an individual representation

1. The Committees recommended that the Scottish Government give further consideration as to how carbon envelopes across the final Plan could be made equally challenging. Further concerns were raised that lesser emissions reductions in transport or agriculture may put particularly ambitious expectations upon the services sector. (ECCLR, 141 EJFW, 158)

• The emission reduction pathway, and associated policies and proposals set out in the Plan have been agreed by Scottish Ministers as the most beneficial to Scotland. The emissions envelopes and the pathway are different to those in the draft Plan. The final pathway has been developed in light of recommendations by the Scottish Parliament, engagement with stakeholders, data revisions and new modelling, and new policies and proposals (for example, transport measures in the Programme for Government 2017- 2018).
• The Services sector has been combined with the Residential sector in the final Plan into the Buildings sector. In response to stakeholder feedback the ambitious emissions reductions trajectory in the draft Plan is less stretching in the final Plan.

2. The Committee recommended that the Scottish Government should increase the extent of the carbon reduction envelope for agriculture and transport, and adopt more challenging policies and proposals, which should incorporate, and be informed by, the behavioural change research it has undertaken. The Committee and an individual representation recommended that that the Scottish Government should consider how to achieve ambitious rather than reasonable emission reductions in the agricultural sector. (173)

• Our aim is to foster a cultural and behavioural shift throughout the Agriculture sector during a time of great uncertainty as the UK Government struggles to articulate what leaving the EU means for farming. In addition, what works on one farm may not be practical or effective on another: there is no universal solution. We are working with the sector to achieve emissions reductions, while protecting Scotland's food security and preventing the offshoring of emissions to another country. We will explore new opportunities as they arise.
• As announced in the Programme for Government 2017- 2018, we have substantially increased our ambition in transport. This is supported by a number of policies designed to change behaviour and encourage more sustainable transport choices. In both the Programme for Government 2017 -18 and the Plan we outline our future transport vision. In this vision we have ended the need to purchase a petrol or diesel car or van by 2032, and travelling by bike or foot is a feasible option for short, every day journeys in our cities. Further, low emission zones have dramatically improved air quality in our urban areas by restricting access to the most polluting vehicles. Taken together, these measures send a clear message to individuals and businesses that behaviour change is needed if we are to meet our emission reduction goals.